ECLECTIC ENGLISH CLASS !C5 



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PALAMON AND ARCITE 



BY 



JOHN DRYDEN 






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MF RICAN • BOOK • COMPANY 
YORK' CINCINNATI • CHICAGO 



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ECLECTIC ENGLISH CLASSICS 



PALAMON AND ARCITE 



JOHN DRYDEN 

1 1 




TWO COft 



ED 



NEW YORK • : • CINCINNATI • : • CHICAGO 

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 
1898 

L. 



(p4^o \ty^ 






Copyright, 1897, by 
American Book Company. 



DRYDEN 
W. P. I 



fo-5 



INTRODUCTION. 



John Dryden was born August 9, 1631, three centuries after 
Chaucer. Shakespeare had been dead fifteen years; Milton 
was a young man of twenty-three, his great poem "Paradise 
Lost" yet to be begun; Edmund Waller was writing graceful 
poetry ; Donne and Herbert had just reached the end of their 
career; and— by no means least noteworthy — the famous King 
James translation of the Bible, which appeared in 161 1, was still 
new. Thus Dryden followed an era of great literary activity 
and achievement, and preceded another productive period, that 
of Pope and Addison, a period on which his own writings 
were to have no little influence. For this reason we associate 
him not so much with the poets that precede, or with Milton, 
who, though a contemporary, stands apart and independent, as 
with the poets that followed,— the artificial, scholarly, brilHant 
poets of the "Augustan " period. 

Young Dryden attended Westminster School, and later Trinity 
College, Cambridge. On leaving college he came to London 
and began his fight for fame. In those days a young poet who 
wished advancement would write flattering verses to the king or 
to some nobleman prominent in politics, and would, if so fortu- 
nate as to please him, receive in return gifts of money or possibly 

5 



6 INTRODUCTION. 

appointment to some well-salaried office. Such poems were full 
of the most servile adulation (see the dedication to this very poem, 
p. 105), and one wonders that men of self-respect could write 
them or feel flattered by them. This is Dryden's address to the 
Lord Chancellor : 

" In open prospect nothing bounds our eye 
Until the earth seems joined unto the sky : 
So in this hemisphere our utmost view 
Is only bounded by our king and you. 
Our sight is limited where you are joined, 
And beyond that no farther heaven can find." 

Such showy insincerity, however, was the fashion of the day. 
It was a time of display and affectation, and these naturally found 
their reflection in Kterature. 

Dryden's first marked success was in 1658. On the death of 
Cromwell, the Lord Protector (King Charles L had been de- 
throned and beheaded), he wrote a long and very laudatory elegy, 
which brought him immediate favor among Cromwell's friends. 
But only two years later, when Cromwell's party lost power, when 
the Stuarts were recalled, and the deposed king's son, Charles II., 
ascended the throne, then our poet, in his " Astrsea Redux," 
welcomed the new king quite as eloquently as he had lamented 
the death of his predecessor. His past utterances were forgotten, 
and he was at once received, thanks to his flattering salutation, 
into the royal favor. 

Yet he did not rely merely upon flattery to maintain this favor. 
King Charles, fresh from the gay court of France, was fond of 
the theater, and Dryden quickly became known as an able writer 
of plays, — both comedies and tragedies. These were by no means 



INTRODUCTION. 7 

of even merit. Some failed, some succeeded. The comedies, 
though witty, were often offensive to good taste ; the tragedies, 
written for the most part in rhymed verse, suffered, for all their 
genius, from empty pomp and turgidity of rhetoric. But turgidity 
and lack of delicacy were the fashion of the day. So, for that 
matter, was rhyme. Dryden even — with Milton's somewhat 
scornful permission — rewrote in rhyme the majestic blank verse 
of the " Paradise Lost," or, as Milton contemptuously put it, 
" tagged " his verses. 

In 1670 Dryden was appointed "Poet Laureate and Histori- 
ographer General," a position of honor, and one which brought 
him a very good salary. He paid for it in writing flattering 
dedications and in helping the government in its political disputes. 

It was in defense of the king's party that he wrote his famous 
[)olitical satires, " Absalom and Achitophel," " The Medal," and 
" MacFlecknoe." These for bitter power have never been sur- 
passed. They marked their author as a man whose ridicule was 
to be feared. A few angry speeches in " Palamon and Arcite " 
(Book I. 311-350, for example) give some idea of his vigor of 
invective. 

Charles 11. died ; but under King James IL Dryden still enjoyed 
the royal favor. Perhaps to augment this, he became a Catholic, 
and wrote, in championship of the Catholic Church, his great 
religious fable, " The Hind and the Panther." But if he wrote 
this with hopes of advancement, his hopes were vain ; for hardly 
was the poem finished when James fled from the throne, and 
WilHam and Mary, Protestants, came into power. 

Dryden, deprived under their government of office, honors, 
and salary, resorted to the writing of plays and translations. 
The best known of the latter is his translation of Vergil's "^neid." 



8 INTR on UC TION. 

He translated also poems of Homer, Horace, Juvenal, and Ovid, 
not to speak of a number of prose works. During this period 
he wrote also many shorter poems, among them his masterpiece, 
"Alexander's Feast." He was planning at his death in 1700 to 
translate the whole of Homer's " Iliad," a task which was left, 
however, to his brilliant successor, Alexander Pope. 

In person Dryden was short, — a square-built, plump man, with 
a ruddy face, and with hair that turned gray early in his life. He 
is said to have been bashful and awkward in the presence of 
strangers, though genial to his friends. He seems to have been 
quick of temper, with violent passions, atoned for by great gener- 
osity and kindliness of heart. His home life was unhappy, for 
his wife and he were uncongenial ; but he loved his sons dearly. 
In his old age he had many friends, and was a prominent figure 
at ** Will's " coffee-house, where it was the custom for *' wits " 
(men of letters) to assemble. 

** Palamon and Arcite," pubUshed (1700) in the ''Fables," a 
volume of translations from Chaucer and Boccaccio, was almost 
his last work. He is said to have died happy in its success. He 
was almost seventy years old when he wrote it; yet it is in no 
degree inferior, either in spirit or in polish, to his earlier writings. 
The poem is based on Chaucer's " The Knightes Tale." Chaucer 
took the story from Boccaccio, a famous Italian writer. Boc- 
caccio's poem, the '' Teseide," contains over ten thousand lines ; 
Chaucer's consists of only about two thousand; while Dryden, 
in his "translation," has again expanded the story, his poem 
being some five hundred lines longer than Chaucer's. He has 
also, we shall see, made considerable changes in the treatment, 
cutting down some parts and enlarging others. 



INTR OD UC TION. 9 

Geoffrey Chaucer lived in the fourteenth century, about two 
hundred years before the time of Shakespeare. The earhest of 
England's great poets, he stood unequaled in his own time and 
for two centuries thereafter. In his peculiar field of verse he 
still remains unexcelled. He was prominent not only in letters, 
but also in public life ; for he held responsible offices, and was 
sent on important embassies abroad, — once to Italy, where he 
may have met Boccaccio and talked over this very story of Pala- 
mon and Arcite. 

"The Knightes Tale," which we are to study in Dryden's 
translation, is the first of Chaucer's celebrated " Canterbury 
Tales," stories supposed to be told by a merry party of pilgrims 
on their springtime pilgrimage to the shrines of Canterbury. 
This series of loosely connected tales is regarded as Chaucer's 
greatest work, and " The Knightes Tale " as one of the best of 
the series. 

The story of the poem is as follows : 

Theseus, returning home to Athens with his bride Hippolyta and 
her young sister Emily, is met by a party of women, suppliants for 
his help. They implore him to punish the wicked tyrant Creon, 
who cruelly refuses burial to the bodies of their husbands, slain 
in the siege of Thebes. Theseus thereupon at once sets out for 
Thebes, kills Creon, and brings back two prisoners, Palamon and 
Arcite, cousins and sworn " brothers in arms," both of the royal 
line of Thebes. These he imprisons in a tower of his castle. 
Looking from the window of this tower one May morning, Pala- 
mon sees Emily picking flowers. Overcome with admiration, 
he points her out to Arcite, who at once falls in love with her. 
A quarrel ensues. Each is sworn to aid the other in his love 
adventures, but each maintains that he loved Emily first. Pala- 



lo INTRODUCTION. 

mon saw her first, but, as Arcite asserts, took her for a goddess, 
while Arcite at once loved her as a mortal woman. 

Arcite, by private influence with Theseus, is released, on con- 
dition that he shall leave Athens forever, under penalty of death 
for returning. Nevertheless he does return, disguised as a servant, 
in which capacity he engages in the service of Emily. After six 
years of captivity, Palamon, too, secures his liberty, escaping by 
night and fleeing to a wood. Here, in the morning, he encounters 
Arcite. • Indignant reproaches follow. Arcite brings him arms, 
and the next day they meet to settle their claim to Emily by 
single combat. Theseus, however, sees them fighting, rides up, 
and interferes. At first he threatens both with death, but, 
relenting, grants them a year to gather each a troop of one 
hundred picked knights. At the end of this time they are to 
meet in a great tournament, the winner to have Emily for his wife. 

Preparations are made, and at last the great day comes, and 
the two champions appear, each with his hundred knights. Both 
seek help from the gods. Arcite prays to Mars, asking for victory 
in the battle ; Palamon, to Venus, for success in love. Both are 
led to believe by signs that their prayers will be granted, and they 
confidently prepare for battle. Meanwhile the gods have devised 
a plan to keep their promises to both. Arcite has his wish : he 
wins the battle ; but as he rides along the lists, prepared to claim 
his reward, his horse throws him, and he is fatally injured. He 
dies holding Emily's hand and commending to her his rival Pala- 
mon. His body is burned with imposing ceremonies. At the 
end of a year of mourning Theseus summons Palamon to 
Athens and gives him Epiily for his wife. So the prayers of 
both have been answered. Arcite has been victorious in battle, 
Palamon in love. 



INTR OD UC TION. 1 1 

The scene is laid in Greece, but not in the Greece of ancient 
history. The Theseus of Greek myth was not a " duke," as in 
Chaucer, nor did the people of his day have castles, towers, 
knights, and tournaments. Chaucer and Boccaccio lived in the 
Middle Ages, and knew little of Greek manners and customs. 
They supposed that the life must be much like that which they 
themselves lived. So it is this they describe, the life of their own 
times and of the days just preceding, even if they do mix in the 
names of Greek cities and kings and gods. Chaucer had fought 
in France under the Black Prince, had seen tournaments, and 
could write of the life of chivalry from personal experience. 
Dryden, who wrote long after the day of these things was over, 
knew more of the real history of the Greeks, but he was too ar- 
tistic a poet to spoil the poem for the sake of unimportant detail. 
So we find in this poem the surroundings, not of Greece, but 
of mediaeval Europe, and we discover that " mythologies " and 
classical dictionaries do not at all agree with Chaucer, except in 
the main outhnes of his stories. The setting is all different. The 
Theseus of this poem is an imaginary mediaeval duke or prince, 
and has little resemblance to the Theseus who sailed in search of 
the Golden Fleece. And his Athens, with its spires and castles 
and chivalry, is a place that exists only in the wonderland of 
poetry. The names of characters and places are classical ; so is 
much of the main event ; but the spirit is that of the middle ages, 
of the days of chivalry. 

Throughout the poem will be found many references to astrol- 
ogy, the so-called " science " that connected the movements of 
the stars with the destinies of men. Astronomy, even in Dry den's 
day, was httle understood. Men thought that the earth was 
Stationary, and that the sun and moon and planets circled about 



12 INTRODUCTION. 

it. They thought that these were very near us, and very small 
compared with their real size as we now know it. Each planet 
was supposed to have its particular influence on a man's fortunes. 
The position of them was noted at his birth, and from it was cast 
his " horoscope," from which his fortunes and qualities were 
estimated. The heavens were divided into " signs " and " houses." 
A planet in one place in his own " house " was powerful, in an- 
other weak. The rules laid down were very elaborate, — too much 
so to be worth a detailed explanation. It is enough to remember 
that each planet had his peculiar powers for good or ill, and 
could exercise them more freely in one position than in 
another. All this was seriously believed in Chaucer's time, and 
was credited by many even in Dryden's day. 

The meter of Dryden's poem is in general the same as that of 
Chaucer's, — five groups, ox feet ^ of two syllables each, the second 
syllable being uttered with more force or stress than the first. 
(Feet of this kind are called iambic.) In Dryden's poem the first 
two lines are divided and accented {scaii7ied) as follows : 

"In days I oi old I there lived, I oi might- I y fame, I 

A val- I \dint prifice, I and The- I sens was I his name. I " 

With very few exceptions, all the lines in the poem can be 
divided into five such groups, that is, into five iambic feet. Con- 
sequently the poem is said to be written in iambic pentameter. 

One exception is sometimes the use of a foot containing three 
syllables, as in line 1 3 : 

'*And his \ victor- \ ious «r | my at \ his side. \ " 
Here the two syllables "i-ous" are pronounced in the time of 
one. Sometimes, too, you will find, as in the first foot in line 40, 
a foot inverted, the stressed syllable coming first : 

^^ March'mg, \ he chanced \ to cast \ his eye \ -Aside. \ " 



INTROD UCTION. 1 3 

In some lines of the poem Dryden uses a whole extra foot, 
making a line of six feet in all. Such a line is called an Alexan- 
drine. Of this kind is line 64, Book I. : 

^^Xiwhat I we beg \ he just \ and we \ deserve \ relief. \ " 

The lines are combined in rhymed sets of two {^couplets), with 
now and then groups of three {triplets). In the construction of 
the couplets there is a notable difference between Chaucer and 
Dryden. In Dryden, as a rule, the couplets are independent. 
The first five couplets of the poem might, for example, be printed 
as separate stanzas, with breaks between. Each ends with semi- 
colon or period, and the sense does not at all run over the rhyme. 
That is, at the end of each couplet or triplet the reader can pause 
without injury to the meaning. But in Chaucer this is not true. 
His sentences run on over the rhyme, begin or end in the middle 
of the line, — in fact, are evidently intended to be virtually inde- 
pendent of the rhyme form. This development of the couplet 
into a regular detached stanza, complete in itself, with a marked 
pause at the end, was a peculiarity of the period of poetry which 
Dryden inaugurated ; his successors, Pope especially, carried this 
principle to its extreme. In making Chaucer's couplets conform 
to this rule, Dryden was thought at the time to have improved 
them vastly. Now, however, most poets have returned to a freer 
way of writing, and let the sense run past the rhyme just as 
Chaucer did. Still, one cannot but admire the marshaled dignity 
of Dryden's " heroic couplets," whose stately movement, in spite 
of a certain monotony, is undeniably impressive. A comparison 
of the following extract from Chaucer with Dryden's lines (Book 
I. 168-198) will clearly show the difference between the two 
poems : 



14 INTRODUCTION. 

" This passeth yeer by yeer, and day by day, 
Til it fil 1 ones,2 in a morwe ^ of May, 
That Emelye, that fairer was to sene 
Than is the HUe upon his stalke grene, 
And fressher than the May with floures newe — 
For with the rose ^ colour stroof ^ hir hewe, 
I noot ^ which was the fairer of hem ^ two — 
Er it were day, as was hir wone to do, 
She was arisen, and al redy dight;^ 
For May wol have no slogardye ^ a-night. 
The sesoun priketh ^^ every gentil herte, 
And maketh him out of his sleep to sterte, 
And seith, ' Arys, and do thyn observaunce.' 
This maked Emelye have remembraunce 
To doon 11 honour to May, and for to ryse. 
Y-clothed was she fresh, for to devyse;!^ 
Hir yelow heer was broyded in a tresse, 
Bihinde hir bak, a yerde long, I gesse. 
And in the gardin, at the sonne up-riste,i^ 
She walketh up and doun, and as hir listed* 
She gadereth floures, party ^^ whyte and rede, 
To make a sotil ^^ gerland for hir hede. 
And as an aungel hevenly she song." 

This extract shows also how much Dryden has enlarged and 
elaborated. The last line, for instance, becomes in his revision : 

'^This done, she sung and caroled out so clear. 
That men and angels might rejoice to hear." 

Such a comparison shows the merits of both poets. 

1 Befell. 2 Once. ^ Morning. * Rose's. 5 Strove. ^ Know not. 

7 Them. 8 Prepared. 9 Laziness. 10 Rouses, n Do. 12 Describe. 

13 Sun's uprising. 14 As she wishes. 15 Partly. 1^ Finely woven. 

Pronounce every final e marked " e," like final a in " Carolina." 



INTROD UCTION. 1 5 

Dryden's language is more like that of to-day than is Chaucer's, 
yet a modern reader will find many difficulties. The chief trouble 
comes from the fact that he uses many words in senses slightly 
different from those which they have with us. With him quire 
means "compan}^," accidents means "incidents," generous means 
" noble " or " spirited." Such differences will be commented on 
in the notes as they occur. 

Another difficulty lies in the shapelessness of his sentences, 
which seem, in some cases, simply jumbled together without re- 
gard to construction. So far as possible, punctuation has been 
made to help by making clear the relation of ideas. The obscurity 
comes partly from an incoherent habit of Dryden's mind, partly 
from his awkwardness in meter. He had never the mastery of 
it shown by later writers. , He atones for this, however, by his 
superior excellence in vigor and spirit. It will be well for the 
teacher to give special care to seeing that the class, in each line, 
find not only a meaning, but the meaning. 

" Palamon and Arcite " is not, in the strict sense, a translation. 
Here we have Chaucer's story and Chaucer's thoughts presented 
in the manner of John Dryden, and of his artificial though artistic 
period, a period entirely out of sympathy with that in which 
Chaucer wrote. In other words, Dryden rewrote the p>oem as he 
himself would have written it. In some respects he made it 
better ; in others he weakened it. So it gives no adequate idea 
of the beauty, simplicity, and dramatic power of Chaucer's won- 
derful poem, " The Knightes Tale." 

The two writers differ in style of expression : Chaucer prefers 
simple, specific words ; Dryden impresses us with fine epithets 
and resonant derivatives from the Latin. Chaucer, in spite of 
his court life, is the poet of the open air and of human nature ; 



1 6 INTRODUCTION. 

Dryden is primarily the poet of the court, with its gayly dressed 
gallants and showy ceremonial. Chaucer's sentences are clear, 
logical, almost conversational ; Dryden's are involved, crowded, 
consciously rhetorical, plainly labored. 

In this connection it is interesting to note Dryden's own view 
of Chaucer and the " Canterbury Tales," as given in the follow- 
ing extract from the Preface to the '* Fables " : 

'^ It remains that I say somewhat of Chaucer in particular. In the 
first place, as he is the father of English poetry, so I hold him in the 
same degree of veneration as the Grecians held Homer, or the Romans 
Vergil : he is a perpetual fountain of good sense ; learned in all sciences : 
and therefore speaks properly on all subjects ; as he knew what to 
say, so he knows also when to leave off, a continence which is prac- 
ticed by few writers, and scarcely by any of the ancients, excepting 
Vergil and Horace. . . . 

" The verse of Chaucer, I confess, is not harmonious to us ; but it 
is like the eloquence of one whom Tacitus commends : . . . they who 
lived with him, and some time after him, thought it musical; and it 
continues so even in our judgment, if compared with the numbers of 
Lydgate and Gower, his contemporaries : there is the rude sweetness 
of a Scotch tune in it, which is natural and pleasing, though not per- 
fect. ... 

" He must have been a man of a most wonderful comprehensive 
nature, because, as it has been truly observed of him, he has taken 
into the compass of his * Canterbury Tales ' the various manners and 
humors (as we now call them) of the whole English nation, in his 
age. Not a single character has escaped him. All his pilgrims are 
severally distinguished from each other; and not only in their inclina- 
tions, but in their very physiognomies and persons. Baptista Porta i 
could not have described their natures better, than by the marlTs 
which the poet gives them. The matter and manner of their tales, 

1 An Italian physiognomist. 



INTRODUCTION. i.7 . 

and of their telling, are so suited to their different educations, 
humors, and callings, that each of them would be improper in any 
other mouth. Even the grave and serious characters are distin- 
guished by their several sorts of gravity : their discourses are such as 
belong to their age, their calling, and their breeding; such as are 
becoming of them, and of them only. Some of his persons are 
vicious, and some virtuous; some are unlearned, or (as Chaucer calls 
them) lewd, and some are learned. . . . We have our forefathers and 
great- gran dams all before us, as they were in Chaucer's days; their 
general characters are still remaining in mankind, and even in Eng- 
land, though they are called by other names than those of Monks and 
Friars, and Canons, and lady Abbesses, and Nuns : for mankind is 
ever the same, and nothing lost out of nature, though everything is 
altered. . . . 

''I find some people are offended that I have turned these tales 
into modern English ; because they think them unworthy of my pains, 
and look on Chaucer as a dry, old-fashioned wit, not worth reviving. . . . 

*' Chaucer, I confess, is a rough diamond, and must first be polished, ere 
he shines. I deny not, likewise, that, living in our early days of poetry, 
he writes not always of a piece ; but sometimes mingles trivial things 
with those of greater moment. . . . Having observed this redundancy 
in Chaucer (as it is an easy matter for a man of ordinary parts to find 
a fault in one of greater), I have not tied myself to a literal transla- 
tion ; but have often omitted what I judged unnecessary, or not of 
dignity enough to appear in the company of better thoughts. I have 
presumed farther, in some places, and added somewhat of my own 
where I thought my author was deficient, and had not given his 
thoughts their true luster, for want of words in the beginning of our 
language. And to this I was the more emboldened, because (if I may 
be permitted to say it of myself) I found I had a soul congenial to his, 
and that I had been conversant in the same studies. Another poet, 
in another age, may take the same liberty with my writings ; if at 
least they live long enough to deserve correction. ... 



1 8 INTRODUCTION. 

" I grant that something must be lost in all transfusion, that is, in 
all translations ; but the sense will remain, which would otherwise be 
lost, or at least be maimed, when it is scarce intelligible ; and that 
but to a few. How few are there who can read Chaucer, so as to 
understand him perfectly ? And if imperfectly, then with less profit 
and no pleasure. 'Tis not for the use of some old Saxon friends, that 
I have taken these pains with him : let them neglect my version, 
because they have no need of it. I made it for their sakes who 
understand sense and poetry as well as they, when that poetry and 
sense is put into words which they understand. I will go farther, 
and dare to add, that what beauties I lose in some places, I give to 
others which had them not originally ; but in this I may be partial 
to myself: let the reader judge, and I submit to his decision. Yet I 
think I have just occasion to complain of them, who, because they 
understand Chaucer, would deprive the greater part of their country- 
men of the same advantage, and hoard him up, as misers do their 
grandam gold, only to look on it themselves, and hinder others from 
making use of it. In sum, I seriously protest, that no man ever had, 
or can have, a greater veneration for Chaucer, than myself. I have 
translated some part of his works, only that I might perpetuate his 
memory, or at least refresh it, amongst my countrymen. If I have 
altered him anywhere for the better, I must at the same time acknowl- 
edge that I could have done nothing without him." 

Although Dryden's poem fails as a translation of Chaucer, it 
has many merits of its own which make it worthy of careful study. 
It is an excellent example of the " heroic couplet," a type of verse 
that for over a century held the leading place in Enghsh poetry. 
From passages read aloud we may realize the richness of sound 
of this verse, and understand why it had such popularity, and 
why it seemed for a time superior to the more delicate but more 
truly poetic cadences of Chaucer's varied verse. 



INTRODUCTION. 19 

Dryden's poem gives an insight into the spirit of a period 
of history. We see in it a book that everybody once bought 
and read and praised. It takes us, in imagination, into the 
briUiant courts of Charles and James, and shows us the nature 
of the men there, just as John Bunyan's *' Pilgrim's Progress " 
gives a picture of the men who, Bible and sword in hand, fought 
against this spirit of pride and display. It is in this way that 
literature teaches history. 

Through this poem, then, one may reach two things : in the 
manner in which it is written we see the times of Dryden ; in 
the story itself, in the life described, we get a gHmpse of the days 
of Chaucer, the romantic Middle Ages, when knights in armor 
fought tournaments, and dukes and princes rode to battle at the 
head of their mailed troops. In these verses there mingle — or 
contend — the ideals of two widely severed and antagonistic peri- 
ods, the more remote seen dimly through the nearer, colored by 
it, transformed, like a simple landscape seen through the briUiant 
tints of windows of stained glass. 



PALAMON AND ARCITE, 

OR THE KNIGHT'S TALE. 



BOOK I. 

In days of old there lived, of might}^ fame, 

A valiant prince, and Theseus ^ was his name ; 

A chief who more in feats of arms excelled, 

The rising nor the setting sun beheld. 

Of Athens he was lord ; much land he won, 5 

And added foreign countries to his crown. 

In Scythia^ with the warrior queen he strove. 

Whom first by force he conquered, then by love ; 

He brought in triumph back the beauteous dame, 

With whom her sister, fair Emilia, came. 10 

With honor to his home let Theseus ride, 

With Love to friend, and Fortune for his guide. 

And his victorious army at his side.^ 

1 Tlie'seus, in Greek legend a hero who became king of Athens, was 
famed for many valorous deeds. He subdued the Amazons, a race of warlike 
women, and led their queen, Hippolyta, to Athens as his bride. Scythia, 
the home of the Amazons, was a cold region of indefinite extent north of the 
Black Sea. 

2 " With honor," etc. These lines form a triplet (a group of three rhym: 
ing lines). :-..'' ^ 



2 2 JOHN DRYDEN. [book i. 

1 1 pass their warlike pomp, their proud array, 
Their shouts, their songs, their welcome c* the way; 15 
But, were it not too long, I would recite 
The feats of Amazons, the fatal fight 
Betwixt the hardy queen and hero knight ; 
The town besieged,^ and how much blood it cost 
The female army, and the Athenian host ; 20 

The spousals of Hippolyta the queen ; 
What tilts ^ and tourneys ^ at the feast were seen ; 
The storm at their return, the ladies' fear : 
But these, and other things, I must forbear. 
The field is spacious I design to sow, 25 

With oxen far unfit to draw the plow ; 
The remnant of my tale is of a length 
To tire your patience, and to waste my strength. 
And trivial accidents * shall be forborne, 
That others may have time to take their turn, 30 

As was at first enjoined us by mine host;^ 
That he whose tale is best, and pleases most, 
Should win his supper at our common cost.^ 
And therefore, where I left, I will pursue 
This ancient story, whether false or true, 35 

In hope it may be mended with a new.^ 

1 The knight who tells the first of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. See 
Note 5. 

2 " The town besieged," i.e., how the town was besieged. 

3 Tilts and jousts were contests between two adversaries, fought on horse- 
back with lances. Tourneys or tournaments were general encounters, where 
many fought on each side. ^ Incidents. 

5 The Canterbury Tales are supposed to be told by a party of pilgrims 
on a pilgrimage to Canterbury (fifty-three miles from Tondon). On their 
way they stop at the Tabard Inn in Southwark (opposite London). The host 
of the inn accompanies them as guide, and suggests that the members of the 
party tell tales to shorten the way, the one whose tale pleases best to receive 
a supper at the common cost. The telling of the first tale falls to the lot of 
the knight. Chaucer gives in his series twenty-four of the supposed tales. 

6 " Mended with a new," i.e., improved upon by a story to follow. 



BOOK I.] P^LAMON AND ARCITE. 23 . 

The prince I mentioned, full of high renown, 

In this array drew near the Athenian town. 

When, in his pomp and utmost ^ of his pride. 

Marching, he chanced to cast his eye aside, 40 

And saw a quire 2 of mourning dames, who lay 

By two and two across the common way. 

At his approach they raised a rueful cry. 

And beat their breasts, and held their hands on high. 

Creeping and crying, till they seized at last 45 

His courser's bridle, and his feet embraced.^ 

" Tell me," said Theseus, " what and whence you are, 
And why this funeral pageant you prepare? 
Is this the welcome of my worthy deeds, 
To meet my triumph in ill-omened weeds?* 50 

Or 5 envy you my praise, and would destroy 
With grief my pleasures, and pollute my joy? 
Or^ are you injured, and demand relief? 
Name your request, and I will ease your grief." 

The most in years ^ of all the mourning train 55 

Began (but swounded ^ first away for pain) ; 
Then, scarce recovered, spoke: " Nor^ envy we 
Thy great renown, nor grudge thy victory ; 
'Tis thine, O king, the afflicted to redress. 
And fame has filled the world with thy success : 60 

We wretched women sue for that alone. 
Which of thy goodness is refused to none ; 
Let fall some drops of pity on our grief, 
If what we beg be just and we deserve relief; ^ 

1 Greatest degree of. 2 Company (compare with modern " choir "). 

3 In supplication. * Garments. 

5 " Or . . . or," old use for " either . . . or." 

6 " Most in years," i.e., oldest. "^ Old form of " swooned." 

8 Neither. 

9 " If what we beg," etc. This line is an " Alexandrine." See Intro- 
duction, p. 13. 



24 JOHN DRYDEN. ^ [book i. 

For none of us, who now thy grace implore, 65 

But held the rank of sovereign queen before ; 

Till thanks to giddy Chance, which never bears 

That mortal bHss should last for length of years. 

She cast us headlong from our high estate. 

And here in hope of thy return we wait ; 70 

And long have waited in the temple nigh, 

Built to the gracious goddess Clemency. 

But reverence thou the power whose name it bears. 

Relieve the oppressed, and wipe the widow's tears. 

I, wretched I, have other fortune seen, 75 

The wife of Capaneus,^ and once a queen ; 

At Thebes^ he fell, cursed be the fatal day! 

And all the rest thou seest in this array 

To make ^ their moan, their lords in battle lost ^ 

Before that town besieged by our confederate host:^ 80 

But Creon, old and impious, who commands 

The Theban city, and usurps the lands. 

Denies the rites of funeral fires to those 

Whose breathless bodies yet he calls his foes. 

Unburned, unburied,^ on a heap they He ; 85 

Such is their fate, and such is tyranny ; 

No friend has leave to bear away the dead, 

But with their lifeless limbs his hounds are fed." 

1 Polynices, with six confederates, led an unsuccessful attack against 
Thebes (one of the powerful cities of ancient Greece) for the throne held by 
his brother. Capaneus, one of the seven leaders, having boasted that even 
Jupiter, the king of the gods, could not hold him back, was struck dead by 
a thunderbolt while scaling the walls. Both Polynices and his brother having 
fallen in the encounter, the tyrant Creon succeeded to the throne of Thebes. 

2 We should omit "to." All that thou seest make. 

3 Past tense; the subject is " rest." 

^ " Confederate host," i.e., the seven confederates against Thebes. 

5 With the Greeks burial was a solemn duty. Until the funeral rites 
were performed the souls of the dead were believed to wander homeless upon 
the earth. 



BOOK I.] PALAMON AND ARCITE. 25 

At this she shrieked aloud ; the mournful train 
Echoed her grief, and, groveling on the plain, 90 

With groans, and hands upheld, to move his mind, 
Besought his pity to their helpless kind. 

The prince was touched, his tears began to flow, 
And, as ^ his tender heart would break in two, 
He sighed; and could not but their fate deplore, 95 

So wretched now, so fortunate before. 
Then lightly from his lofty steed he flew. 
And, raising one by one the suppliant crew,^ 
To comfort each, full solemnly he swore. 
That by the faith which knights to knighthood bore,^ 100 
And whate'er else to chivalry belongs, 
He would not cease, till he revenged their wrongs ; 
That Greece should see performed what he declared, 
And cruel Creon find his just reward. 

He said no more, but, shunning all delay, 105 

Rode on, nor entered Athens on his way ; 
But left his sister and his queen behind, 
x-lnd waved his royal banner in the wind ; 
Where in an argent field ^ the god of war 
Was drawn triumphant on his iron car: * no 

Red was his sword, and shield, and whole attire, 
And all the godhead seemed to glow with fire ; 
E'en the ground glittered where the standard flew, 
And the green grass was dyed to sanguine hue. 
High on his pointed lance his pennon 5 bore 115 

1 Supply "if." 2 Company. 

3 " By the faith," etc. The vows of knighthood bound knights to vindi- 
cate justice, to avenge wrong, and to defend the weak, the unprotected, and 
the oppressed. 

4 The ground of the banner was white. Mars (the god of war) in his iron 
war chariot was pictured upon it. 

5 Only powerful barons bore banners; pennons were borne by knights. 
Being both a baron and a knight, Theseus carried both banner and pennon. 



26 JOHN DRYDEN. [book i. 

His Cretan ^ fight, the conquered Minotaur.^ 

The soldiers shout around with generous rage,^ 

And in that victory their own presage.^ 

He praised their ardor, inly pleased to see 

His host the flower of Grecian chivalry. 120 

All day he marched, and all the ensuing night, 

And saw the city with returning light. 

The process of the war I need not tell, 

How Theseus conquered, and how Creon fell ; 

Or after, how by storm the walls were won, 125 

Or how the victor sacked and burned the town ; 

How to the ladies he restored again 

The bodies of their lords in battle slain ; 

And with what ancient rites they were interred ; 

All these to fitter times shall be deferred. 130 

I spare the widows' tears, their woeful cries, 

And howling ^ at their husbands' obsequies ; 

How Theseus at these funerals did assist. 

And with what gifts the mourning dames dismissed. 

Thus when the victor chief had Creon slain, 135 

And conquered Thebes, he pitched upon the plain 
His mighty camp, and, when the day returned. 
The country wasted ^ and the hamlets burned ; ^ 
And left the pillagers, to rapine bred,^ 
Without control to strip and spoil the dead. 140 

There, in a heap of slain, among the rest 
Two youthful knights they found, beneath a load oppressed 

1 One of the most famous exploits of Theseus was his slaying of the Mino- 
taur, a monster half man, half bull, lodged in a labyrinth in Crete. Minos, 
king of Crete, had exacted a yearly tribute from the Athenians of seven youths 
and seven maidens, who fell victims to the Minotaur. 

2 " Generous rage," i.e., great enthusiasm. 

3 Foretell. 

4 Formerly a dignified word. 

5 " He" is subject of both " burned" and " wasted." 

6 "To rapine bred," i.e., accustomed to plundering. 



BOOK I.] PALAMON AND ARCITE. 27 

Of slaughtered foes, whom first to death they sent, 

The trophies of their strength, a bloody monument. 

Both fair, and both of royal blood they seemed, 145 

Whom kinsmen to the crown ^ the heralds deemed ; 

That day in equal arms 2 they fought for fame ; 

Their swords, their shields, their surcoats ^ were the same. 

Close by each other laid, they pressed the ground, 

Their manly bosoms pierced with many a grisly wound ; 150 

Nor well alive, nor wholly dead they were. 

But some faint signs of feeble life appear ; 

The wandering breath was on the wing to part, 

Weak was the pulse and hardly heaved the heart. 

These two were sisters' sons; and Arcite* one, 155 

Much famed in fields, with vahant Palamon.^ 

From these their costly arms the spoilers rent. 

And softly both conveyed to Theseus' tent ; 

Whom, known ^ of Creon's line, and cured with care. 

He to his city sent as prisoners of the war, 160 

Hopeless of ransom, and condemned to lie 

In durance, doomed a lingering death to die. 

This done, he marched away with warlike sound. 
And to his Athens turned with laurels crowned, 164 

Where happy long he lived, much loved, and more renowned. 
But in a tower, and never to be loosed, 
The woeful captive kinsmen are inclosed. 

Thus year by year tliey pass, and day by day, 
Till once ('twas on the morn of cheerful May) 



2 ' 



King. 

"In equal arms," i.e., exactly similar; a Latinism. This similarity 
showed that they were " brothers in arms," that is, that they had taken the 
solemn oath to aid each other in all enterprises, and to defend each other's 
honor to the death. 

3 Flowing garments worn by knights over their armor. 

4 Ar'cite (sometimes Ar-clte', as required by the meter). 

5 Pal'a-mon. 

6 Supply " to be." 



2S JOHN DRYDEM. [book L 

The young Emilia, fairer to be seen 170 

Than the fair lily on the flowery green, 

More fresh than May herself in blossoms new, 

(For with the rosy color strove her hue,) 

Waked, as her custom was, before the day. 

To do the observance due to sprightly May; 175 

For sprightly May commands our youth to keep 

The vigils of her night, and breaks their sluggard sleep ; 

Each gentle breast with kindly warmth she moves. 

Inspires new flames, revives extinguished loves. 

In this remembrance Emily ere day 180 

Arose, and dressed herself in rich array. 

Fresh as the month, and as the morning fair ; 

Adown her shoulders fell her length of hair ; 

A ribband ^ did the braided tresses bind. 

The rest was loose, and wantoned in the wind: 185 

Aurora had but newly chased the night, 

And purpled o'er the sky with blushing light. 

When to the garden walk she took her way. 

To sport and trip along in cool of day. 

And offer maiden vows in honor of the May. 190 

At every turn, she made a little stand. 
And thrust among the thorns her lily hand 
To draw the rose ; and every rose she drew. 
She shook the stalk, and brushed away the dew. 
Then party-colored 2 flowers of Vhite and red 195 

She wove, to make a garland for her head : 
This done, she sung and caroled out so clear, 
That men and angels might rejoice to hear; 
Even wondering Philomel ^ forgot to sing; 
And learned from her to welcome in the spring. 200 

1 Ribbon. 

2 Of more than one color. 

3 The nightingale. An afifected compliment such as Dryden is fond of. 
Chaucer says simply, " And as an aungel hevenly she song." 



BOOK I.] PALAMON AND ARCITE. 29 

The tower, of which before was mention made, 
Within whose keep ^ the captive knights were laid, 
Built of a large extent, and strong withal,- 
Was one partition of the palace wall ; 

The garden was inclosed within the square, 205 

Where ^ young EmiHa took the morning air. 
It happened Palamon, the prisoner knight. 
Restless for^ woe, arose before the Hght, 
And with his jailer's leave desired to breathe 
An air more wholesome than the damps beneath. 210 

This granted, to the tower he took his way. 
Cheered with the promise of a glorious day: 
Then cast a languishing regard around, 
And saw, with hateful eyes,^ the temples crowned 
With golden spires,^ and all the hostile ground. 215 

He sighed, and turned his eyes, because he knew 
'Twas but a larger jail he had in view ; 
Then looked below, and from the castle's height 
Beheld a nearer and more pleasing sight : 
The garden, which before he had not seen, 220 

In spring's new livery clad, of white and green. 
Fresh flowers in wide parterres, and shady walks between. 
This viewed, but not enjoyed, with arms across,^ 
He stood, reflecting on his country's loss ; 
Himself an object of the public scorn, 225 

And often wished he never had been born. - 

At last (for so his destiny required) 
With walking giddy, and with thinking tired, 
He through a little window cast his sight, 
Though 'thick of 8 bars, that 9 gave a scanty Hght : 230 

1 Dungeon. 2 In addition. 3 Refers to " garden. " 

4 From; on account of. 5 " With hateful eyes," i.e., with aversion. 

6 Evidently not in historic Greece. See Introduction, p. Ii. 
1 Folded. 8 With. 

^ Refers to " window^" 



30 JOHN DRYDEN. [book i. 

But even that glimmering served him to descry 
The inevitable ^ charms of Emily. 

Scarce had he seen, but seized with sudden smart, 
Stung to the quick, he felt it at his heart ; 
Struck blind with overpowering hght he stood, 235 

Then started back amazed, and cried aloud. 

Young Arcite heard ; and up he ran with haste. 
To help his friend, and in his arms embraced ; 
And asked him why he looked so deadly wan. 
And whence and how his change of cheer 2 began? 240 
Or who had done the offense? *' But if," said he, 
" Your grief alone is ^ hard captivity, 
For love of Heaven with patience undergo 
A cureless ill, since Fate will have it so : 
So stood our horoscope^ in chains to lie ; 245 

And Saturn ^ in the dungeon of the sky, 
Or other baleful aspect,* ruled our birth, 
When all the friendly stars were under earth : ^ 
Whate'er betides, by Destiny 'tis done ; 
And better bear like men, than vainly seek to shun." 250 
" Nor of my bonds," said Palamon again, 
" Nor of unhappy ^ planets I complain ; 
But when my mortal anguish caused my cry, 
That moment I was hurt through either ^ eye ; 
Pierced with a random shaft, I faint away, 255 

And perish with insensible decay. 

1 Not to be escaped. 

2 Expression ; health. 

3 " Alone is," i.e., is only on account of. 

^ By a horoscope, or plan of the heavens showing the relative position of 
the heavenly bodies at a child's birth, the astrologer was believed to deter- 
mine the events of his life. The various influences of the stars were known 
as good or evil " aspects." The influence of the planet Saturn was always 
for evil. See Introduction, p. 12. 

5 " Under earth," i.e., below the horizon. 

^ Unlucky. 7 " Either eye," i.e., both eyes, 



BOOK I.] PALAMON AND ARCITE. 31 

A glance of some new goddess gave the wound, 
Whom, Hke Actaeon,i unaware I found : 
Look how she walks along yon shady space. 
Not Juno 2 moves with more majestic grace; 260 

And all the Cyprian queen ^ is in her face. . . . 
If thou art Venus (for thy charms confess ^ 
That face was formed in heaven, nor art thou less, 
Disguised in habit,^ undisguised in shape). 
Oh, help us captives from our chains to 'scape! 265 

But if our doom be passed in bonds to lie 
For hfe, and in a loathsome dungeon die, 
Then be thy wrath appeased with our disgrace. 
And show compassion to the Theban race, 
Oppressed by tyrant power!" While yet he spoke, 270 
Arcite on Emily had fixed his look ; 
The fatal dart ^ a ready passage found. 
And deep within his heart infixed the wound : ^ 
So that if Palamon were wounded sore, 
Arcite was hurt as much as he, or more : '^ 275 

Then from his inmost soul he sighed, and said, 
''The beauty I behold has struck me dead: 
Unknowingly she strikes ; and kills by chance ; 
Poison is in her eyes, and death in every glance. 
Oh, I must ask ; ^ nor ask alone, but move 280 

Her mind to mercy, or must die for love." 
Thus Arcite : and thus Palamon replies 
(Eager his tone, and ardent were his eyes) : 

1 In Greek mythology, a hunter who accidentally met Diana (goddess of 
the moon, and patroness of hunting) while she was bathing, and was first 
transformed by the angry goddess into a stag, then torn to pieces by his own 
hounds. 2 The wife of Jupiter, and queen of the gods. 

3 Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, most worshiped on the island 
of Cyprus. 4 Show clearly. 5 Costume ; clothing. 

6 " The fatal dart," i.e., the arrow of love shot by the god Cupid. 

"^ " So that," etc., nearly word for word from Chaucer. 

8 Supply " for mercy. " 



32 JOHN DRYDEN. [book i.. 

" Speak'st thou in earnest, or in jesting vein? " 
''Jesting," said Arcite, "suits but ill with pain." - 285 

" It^ suits far worse " (said Palamon again, 
. . And bent his brows) " with men who honor weigh, 
Their faith to break, their friendship to betray ; 
But worst with thee, of noble lineage born. 
My kinsman, and in arms my brother sworn. 290 

Have we not pHghted each our holy oath, 
That one 2 should be the common good of both? 
One soul should both inspire, and neither prove 
His fellow's hindrance in pursuit of love? ^ 
To this before the gods we gave our hands, 295 

And nothing but our death can break the bands. 
This binds thee, then, to further my design. 
As I am bound by vow to further thine. 
Nor canst, nor darest thou, traitor, on the plain* 
Appeach ^ my honor, or thine own maintain, . 300 

Since thou art of my council, and the friend 
Whose faith I trust, and on whose care depend. 
And would'st thou court my ^ lady's love, which I, 
Much rather than release, would choose to die? 
But thou, false Arcite, never shalt obtain 305 

Thy bad pretense ;7 I told thee first my pain ; 
For first my love began ere thine was born ; 
Thou, as my council, and my brother sworn. 
Art bound to assist my eldership of right,^ 
Or justly to be deemed a perjured knight." 310 

Thus Palamon ; but Arcite with disdain 
In haughty language thus replied again : 

1 " It " looks forward to the real subject, " to break " and " to betray." 

2 One's. 

3 " Have we not plighted," etc. A common vow of mediaeval knights. 

4 In trial by combat. 5 Impeach. 
6 She has been his lady but a few minutes ! 

'^ " Thy bad pretense," i.e., what thou wickedly and falsely claimest. 

5 " Eldership of right," i.e., right by priority of claim. 



BOOK I.] PALAMON AND ARCITE. Z3 

" 1 Forsworn thyself! the traitor's odious name 
I first return, and then disprove thy claim. 
If love be passion, and that passion nursed 315 

With strong desires, I loved the lady first. 
Canst thou pretend desire, whom zeal inflamed 
To worship, and a power celestial named ? 
Thine was devotion to the blest above, 
I saw the woman, and desired her love ; 320 

First owned my passion, and to thee commend 
The important secret, as my chosen friend. ^ 
Suppose (which yet I grant not) thy desire 
A moment elder than my rival fire ; 

Can chance of seeing first thy title prove? 325 

And know'st thou not, no law is made for love? 
Law is to things which to free choice relate ; 
Love is not in our choice, but in our fate ; 
Laws are not positive ; love's power, we see. 
Is Nature's sanction, and her first decree. 330 

. Each day we break the bond of human laws 
For love, and vindicate the common cause.^ 
Laws for defense of civil rights are placed, 
Love throws the fences down and makes a general waste : 
Maids, widows, wives, without distinction fall ; 335 

The sweeping deluge, love, comes on and covers all. 
If then the laws of friendship I transgress, 
I keep the greater, while I break the less ; 
And both are mad ^ alike, since neither can possess. 
Both hopeless to be ransomed, nevermore 340 

To see the sun, but as he passes o'er. 

1 Supply " thou art." 

2 " I saw the woman," etc. Note Arcite's point : he was the first to love 
her as a woman ; Palamon loved her as a goddess. 

3 " For love," etc. Uphold (by acting according to its promptings) this 
common force of love. 

4 Insane to think of "ny chance of success. 

,3 



34 JOHN DRYDEN, [book.i. 

Like ^sop's ^ hounds contending for the bone, 
Each pleaded right, and would be lord alone ; 
The fruitless fight continued all the day; 
A cur 2 came by, and snatched the prize away. 345 

As courtiers therefore justle for a grant, 
And when they break their friendship, plead their want, 
So thou, if Fortune will thy suit advance, 
Love on, nor envy me my equal chance ; 
For I must love, and am resolved to try 350 

My fate, or faihng in the adventure^ die." 

Great was their strife, which hourly was renewed. 
Till each with mortal hate his rival viewed ; 
Now friends no more, nor walking hand in hand ; 
But when they met, they made a surly stand, 355 

And glared like angry lions as they passed, 
And wished that every look might be their last. 

It chanced, at length, Pirithous^ came to attend 
This worthy Theseus, his familiar friend. 
Their love in early infancy began, 360 

And rose as childhood ripened into man ; 
Companions of the war,^ and loved so well, 
That when one died, as ancient stories tell, 
His fellow to redeem him went to hell.* 

But to pursue my tale : to welcome home 365 

His warlike brother is Pirithous come. 
Arcite of Thebes was known in arms ^ long since. 
And honored by this young Thessalian prince ; 

1 Note the anachronism, ^sop, the famous Greek writer of fables, lived 
in the sixth century B.C., long after Arcite's time. 

2 In Chaucer, " a kite." ^ Venture; attempt. 

4 Pi-rith'o-us, a king of Thessaly in northeastern Greece, and the bosom 
friend of Theseus. Theseus accompanied Pirithous to Hades to assist the 
latter in carrying off Proserpina, the wife of Pluto, god of the lower regions ; 
but the attempt was unsuccessful, and Pluto punished both heroes by chaining 
them to a rock. 5 Supply " they were." 

6 " Known in arms," i.e., known as a fellow-knight. 



BOOK I.] PALAMON AND ARCITE. 35. 

Theseus to gratify his friend and guest, 

Who made our Arcite's freedom his request, 370 

Restored to Hberty the captive knight, 

But on these hard conditions I recite : 

That if hereafter Arcite should be found 

Within the compass of Athenian ground, 

By day or night, or on whate'er pretense, 375 

His head should pay the forfeit of the offense. 

To this Pirithous for his friend agreed, 

And on his promise was the prisoner freed. 

Unpleased and pensive hence he takes his way, 
At his own peril ; for his life must pay. 380 

Who now but Arcite mourns his bitter fate. 
Finds his dear purchase,^ and repents too late? 
"What have I gained," he said, "in prison pent, * 

If I but change my bonds for banishment? 
And banished from her sight, I suffer more 385 

In freedom, than I felt in bonds before ; 
Forced from her presence, and condemned to live : 
Unwelcome freedom, and unthanked reprieve ; 
Heav'n is not, but where Emily abides. 
And where she's absent, all is hell besides. 390 

Next to my day of birth, was that accursed, 
Which bound my friendship to Pirithous first : 
Had I not known that prince, I still had been 
In bondage, and had still EmiHa seen; 
For though I never can her grace deserve, 395 

'Tis recompense enough to see and serve. 
O Palamon, my kinsman and my friend. 
How much more happy fates thy love attend! 
Thine is the adventure ; ^ thine the victory : 
Well has thy fortune turned the dice for thee! 400 

1 " Finds his deal- purchase," i.e., finds that he has bought freedom at 
too high a price. 
3 Opportunity. 



36 JOHN DRYDEN. [book i. 

Thou on that angel's face may'st feed thy eyes, 

In prison, no; but blissful paradise! 

Thou daily seest that sun of beauty shine. 

And lov'st at least in love's extremest line.^ 

I mourn, in absence, love's eternal night ; 405 

And who can tell but, since thou hast her sight. 

And art a comely, young, and vahant knight, 

Fortune (a various ^ power) may cease to frown, 

And by some ways unknown thy wishes crown! 

But I, the most forlorn of humankind, 410 

.Nor help can hope, nor remedy can find ; 

But doomed to drag my loathsome life in care, 

For my reward, must end it in despair. 

Fire, water, air, and earth ; ^ and force of Fates 

That governs all; and Heaven that all creates, — 415 

Nor art, nor Nature's hand can ease my grief, — 

Nothing but death, the wretch's last relief. 

Then farewell, youth ; and all the joys that dwell 

With youth and life ; and life itself, farewell! " 

"But why, alas! do mortal men, in vain, 420 

Of Fortune, Fate, or Providence complain? 
God gives us what he knows our wants require, 
And better things than those which we desire. 
Some pray for riches ; riches they obtain. 
But, watched by robbers, for their wealth are slain; 425 
Some pray from prison to be freed, and come. 
When guilty of their vows,* to fall at home. 
Murdered by those they trusted with their Hfe, 
A favored servant, or a bosom wife. 

1 "And lov'st," etc., i.e., thou hast all that mere love (without attain- 
ment) can give. 

2 Variable. 

3 The " four elements," according to ancient and mediaeval philosophy. 

* " When guilty," etc., i.e., bound to do what they had vowed to do 
in case of success. Consequently it means here " having obtained their 
wish." 



BOOK I.] PA LAM ON AND AKCITE. 37 

Such dear-bought blessings happen every day, 430 

Because we know not for what things to pray. 

Like drunken sots about the street we roam : 

Well knows the sot he has a certain home, 

Yet knows not how to find the uncertain place, 

And blunders on, and staggers every pace. 435 

Thus all seek happiness ; but few can find, 

For far the greater part of men are bhnd. 

This is my case, who thought our utmost good 

Was in one word of ' freedom ' ^ understood. 

The fatal blessing came ; from prison free, 440 

I starve ^ abroad, and lose the sight of Emily." 

Thus Arcite ; but if Arcite thus deplore 
His sufferings, Palamon yet suffers more. 
For when he knew his rival freed and gone. 
He swells with wrath; he makes outrageous^ moan; 445 
He frets, he fumes, he stares, he stamps the ground ; 
The hollow tower with clamors rings around ; 
With briny tears he bathed his fettered feet, 
And dropped ^ all o'er with agony of sweat. 
" Alas! " he cried ; " I, wretch, in prison pine, 450 

Too happy rival, while the fruit is thine : 
Thou liv'st at large, thou draw'st thy native air. 
Pleased with thy freedom, proud ^ of my despair ; 
Thou may'st, since thou hast youth and courage joined, 
A sweet behavior and a solid mind, 455 

Assemble ours, and all the Theban race. 
To vindicate ^ on Athens thy disgrace ; 
And after (by some treaty made) possess 
Fair Emily, the pledge of lasting peace."^ 

1 " Was in one word," etc., i.e., in the one word " freedom." 

2 Perish ; not originally limited to death by hunger. 

3 Furious ; unrestrained. There is little self-restraint in old romances. 
* Was covered with drops. 5 Elated at. 6 Avenge. 

'^ " Fair Emily," etc., i.e., the Theban leader can confirm peace by marry- 
ing Emily, sister-in-law of the Athenian king. 



38 JOHN DRYDEN. [book i. 

So thine shall be the beauteous prize, while I 460 

Must languish in despair, in prison die. 

Thus all the advantage of the strife is thine. 

Thy portion double joys, and double sorrows mine." 

The rage of jealousy then fired his soul. 
And his face kindled like a burning coal. 465 

Now cold despair, succeeding in her stead. 
To livid paleness turns the glowing red ; 
His blood, scarce liquid, creeps within his veins, 
Like water which the freezing wind constrains. 
Then thus he said: ''Eternal Deities, 470 

Who rule the world with absolute decrees, 
And write whatever time shall bring to pass. 
With pens of adamant, on plates of brass, — 
What 1 is the race of humankind your care 
Beyond what all his fellow-creatures are? 475 

He with the rest is liable to pain. 
And hke the sheep, his brother beast, is slain. 
Cold, hunger, prisons, ills without a cure. 
All these he must, and guiltless oft, endure. 
Or does your justice, power, or prescience fail, 480 

When the good suffer, and the bad prevail? 
What worse to wretched virtue could befall, 
If Fate or giddy Fortune governed all? 
Nay, worse than other beasts is our estate ; 
Them to pursue their pleasures you create ; 485 

We, bound by harder laws, must curb our will, 
And your commands, not our desires, fulfill. 
Then, when the creature is unjustly slain, 
Yet, after death at least, he feels no pain ; 
But man, in life surcharged with w^oe before, 490 

Not freed when dead, is doomed to suffer more. 
A serpent shoots his sting at unaware ; 2 
An ambushed thief f orelays ^ a traveler ; 
1 In what. 2 Unawares. 3 Waylays. 



BOOK' I.]- PALAMON AND ARCITE. 39 

The man lies murdered, while the thief and snake, 

One gains the thickets, and one thrids ^ the brake. 495 

This 2 let divines decide ; but well I know, 

3 Just or unjust, I have my share of woe 

Through Saturn,^ seated in a luckless place, 

And Juno's wrath, that persecutes my race.^ 

Or Mars and Venus, in a quartile, move 500 

My pangs of jealousy for Arcite's love." ^ 

Let Palamon, oppressed in bondage, mourn, 
While to his exiled rival we return : 
By this, the sun, declining from his height, 
The day had shortened to prolong the night : 505 

The lengthened night gave length of misery 
Both to the captive lover and the free ; 
For Palamon in endless prison mourns, 
And Arcite forfeits life if he returns ; 

The banished never hopes his love to see, 510 

Nor hopes the captive lord- his liberty. 
'Tis hard to say who suffers greater pains : 
One sees his love, but cannot break his chains ; 
One free, and all his motions uncontrolled. 
Beholds whate'er he would, but '^ what he would behold. 515 
Judge as you please, for I will haste to tell 
What fortune to the banished knight befell. 

When Arcite was to Thebes returned again. 
The loss of her he loved renewed his pain ; 
What could be worse than nevermore to see 520 

His hfe, his soul, his charming Emily? 

1 Threads. 

2 The question just discussed. 3 Supply " be it." 
* See Note 4, p. 30. 

5 "Juno's wrath," etc. Cadmus, the founder of Thebes, by slaying a 
dragon sacred to Mars, drew upon his race the hostility of both the war god 
and his mother Juno. 

6 "Or Mars," etc., i.e., the planets Mars and Venus are in quadrature, 
or 90° apart, an unfavorable position. '^ Except. 



40 JOHN DRYDEN, [book i. 

He raved with all the madness of despair ; 

He roared, he beat his breast, he tore his hair ; 

Dry sorrow in his stupid eyes appears. 

For, wanting nourishment, he wanted tears; 525 

His eyeballs in their hollow sockets sink. 

Bereft of sleep ; he loathes his meat and drink ; 

He withers at his heart, and looks as wan 

As the pale specter of a murdered man ; 

That pale turns yellow, and his face receives ^ • 530 

The faded hue of sapless boxen ^ leaves ; 

In solitary groves he makes his moan. 

Walks early out, and ever is alone ; 

Nor, mixed in mirth, in youthful pleasures shares, 

But sighs when songs and instruments he hears; 535 

His spirits are so low, his voice is drowned ; 

He hears as from afar, or in a swound,^ 

Like the deaf murmurs of a distant sound ; 

Uncombed his locks, and squalid his attire, 

Unlike the trim* of love and gay desire, 540 

But full of museful ^ mopings, which presage 

The loss of reason, and conclude in rage.^ 

This when he had endured a year and more, 
Now wholly changed from what he was before, 
It happened once, that, slumbering as he lay, 545 

He dreamt (his dream began at break of day) 
That Hermes ^ o'er his head in air appeared, 
And with soft words his drooping spirits cheered : 
His hat, adorned with wings, disclosed the god, 
And in his hand he bore the sleep-compelling rod : 550 

1 Takes on. 2 Box tree. 3 Swoon. 

^ Dress. 5 Thoughtful. 6 Madness. 

"^ Mercury, the messenger of the gods. By a touch of his staff, inter- 
twined with serpents, he could sink men into slumber or waken them from 
sleep. Juno having set her hundred-eyed watchman, Argus, to keep guard 
over her rival, lo (one of Jupiter's favorites). Mercury was sent by Jupiter to 
kill Argus after lulling him to slumber. 



BOOK I.] PA LAM ON AND ARCITE. 41 

Such as he seemed when, at his sire's command, 

On Argus' ^ head he laid the snaky wand.^ 

''Arise," he said, "to conquering Athens go, 

There Fate appoints an end of all thy woe." 

The fright awakened Arcite with a start, 555 

Against his bosom bounced ^ his heaving heart ; 

But soon he said, with scarce recovered breath, 

''And thither will I go to meet my death, — 

Sure to be slain ; but death is my desire, 

Since in Emilia's sight I shall expire." 560 

By chance he spied a mirror while he spoke, 

And gazing there beheld his altered look. 

Wondering, he saw his features and his hue 

So much were changed, that scarce himself he knew. 

A sudden thought then starting in his mind, 565 

" Since I in Arcite cannot Arcite find, 

The world may search in vain with all their eyes, 

But never penetrate through this disguise. 

Thanks to the change which grief and sickness give. 

In low estate I may securely live, 570 

And see, unknown, my mistress day by day." 

He said ; and clothed himself in coarse array, 

A laboring hind in show ; ^ then forth he went. 

And to th? Athenian towers his journey bent; 

One squire attended in the same disguise, 575 

Made conscious * of his master's enterprise. 

Arrived at Athens, soon he came to court. 
Unknown, unquestioned in that thick resort ; 
Proffering for hire his service at the gate. 
To drudge, draw water, and to run or wait. 580 

So fair befell him,^ that for little gain 
He served at first Emilia's chamberlain; 

1 See Note 7, p. 40. 2 Used seriously. 

3 " A laboring hind," i.e., a peasant in appearance. 

* Aware. 5 " So fair," etc., i.e., so fortunately it happened. 



42 JOHN DRYDEN. book i.] 

And, watchful all advantages to spy, 
Was still ^ at hand, and in his master's eye ; 
And, as his bones were big, and sinews strong, 585 

Refused no toil that could' to slaves belong ; 
But from deep wells with engines ^ water drew, 
And used his noble hands the wood to hew. 
He passed a year at least attending thus 
On Emily, and called Philostratus.^ 590 

But never was there man of his degree 
So much esteemed, so well beloved as he. 
So gentle of condition ^ was he known. 
That through the court his courtesy was blown : 
All think him worthy of a greater place, 595 

And recommend him to the royal grace ; 
That exercised within a higher sphere, 
His virtues more conspicuous might appear. 
Thus by the general voice was Arcite praised. 
And by great Theseus to high favor raised ; 600 

Among his menial servants first ^ enrolled. 
And largely entertained ^ with sums of gold, 
Besides what secretly from Thebes was sent, 
Of his own income, and his annual rent. 
V This well employed, he purchased friends and fame, 605 
But cautiously concealed from whence it came. 
Thus for three years he lived Math large increase, 
In arms, of honor, and esteem in peace ; ^ 
To Theseus' person he was ever near. 
And Theseus for his virtues held him dear. 610 

1 Ever. 2 Windlasses, or similar simple contrivances. 

3 " Prostrated through love." 

* " Gentle of condition," i.e., well-bred. 5 Highest. 

6 Liberally recompensed. 

■^ " Increase," etc., i.e., increase of honor in arms and of esteem in peace. 



BOOK II. 

While Arcite lives in bliss, the story turns 

Where hopeless Palamon in prison mourns. 

For six long years immured, the captive knight 

Had dragged his chains, and scarcely seen the light. 

Lost liberty and love at once he bore ; 5 

His prison pained him much, his passion more ; 

Nor dares he hope his fetters to remove, 

Nor ever wishes to be free from love. 

But when the sixth revolving year was run, 
And May within the Twins received the sun,i 10 

Were it by Chance, or forceful Destiny, 
(Which forms in causes first whate'er shall be,) ^ 
Assisted by a friend, one moonless night, 
This Palamoii from prison took his flight. 
A pleasant beverage he prepared before, 15 

Of wine and honey mixed, with added store 
Of opium ; to his keeper this he brought. 
Who swallowed unaware the sleepy^ draught,* 
And snored secure till morn, his senses bound 
In slumber, and in long oblivion drowned. 20 

1 " And May," etc., i.e., when in May the sun was in the sign of Gemini 
(the Twins). 

2 "Which forms," etc., i.e., which shapes the causes of all that befalls. 
" As, when a thing is schapen, it schal be " (Chaucer). 

3 " Sleepy" means sleep-causing. 

* Pronounce to rhyme with " brought." 
43 



44 JOHN DRYDEN, [book ii. 

Short was the night, and careful Palamon 

Sought the next ^ covert ere the rising sun. 

A thick-spread forest near the city lay, 

To this with lengthened strides he took his way, 

(For far he could not fly, and feared the day) ; 25 

Safe from pursuit, he meant to shun the light 

Till the brown shadows of the friendly night 

To Thebes ^ might favor his intended flight. 

When to his country come, his next design 

Was all the Theban race in arms to join,^ 30 

And war on Theseus, till he lost his life 

Or won the beauteous Emily to wife. 

Thus while his thoughts the lingering day beguile. 

To gentle Arcite let us turn our style,^ 

Who httle dreamt how nigh he was to care,^ 35 

Till treacherous Fortune caught him in the snare. 

The morning lark, the messenger of day, 

Saluted in her song the morning gray, 

And soon the sun arose with beams so bright. 

That all the horizon laughed to see the joyous sight. 40 

He with his tepid rays the rose renews, 

And Hcks the dropping ^ leaves, and dries the dews ; 

When Arcite left his bed, resolved to pay 

Observance to the month of merry May. 

Forth on his fiery steed betimes he rode, 45 

That scarcely prints the turf on which he trod ; 

At ease he seemed, and, prancing o'er the plains. 

Turned only to the grove his horse's reins. 

The grove I named before ; and, Hghted there, 

A woodbine garland sought, to crown his hair ; 50 

I Nearest. 2 Modifies " flight." 

3 Note the rhyme of " join " with ** design," common in Dryden's time. 

4 Pen; from the Latin, stylus. 

5 Grief ; unhappiness. 

6 Covered with drops. 



II 



BOOK II.] PALAMON AND ARCITE. 45 

Then turned his face against ^ the rising day, 
And raised his voice to welcome in the May : 
/^" For thee, sweet month, the groves green hveries wear. 
If not the first, the fairest of the year ; 

For thee the Graces ^ lead the dancing Hours,^ 55 

And Nature's ready pencil paints the flowers ; 
When thy short reign is past, the feverish sun 
(The sultry tropic^ fears, and moves more slowly on?) 
iSo may thy tender blossoms fear no blight. 
Nor goats with venomed teeth thy tendrils bite, 60 

As thou shalt guide my wandering feet to find 
The fragrant greens I seek, my brows to bind." 

His vows addressed,* within the grove he strayed. 
Till Fati or Fortune near the place conveyed 
His steps, where secret ^ Palamon was laid. 65 

Full little thought him ^ of the gentle knight. 
Who, flying death, had there concealed his flight. 
In brakes and brambles hid, and shunning mortal sight ; 
And less he '^ knew him ^ for his hated foe. 
But feared him as a man he did not know. 70 

But, as it has been said of ancient years. 
The fields are full of eyes, and woods have ears ; 
For this the wise are ever on their guard. 
For ''unforeseen," they say, "is unprepared." 
Uncautious Arcite thought himself alone, 75 

And, less than all, suspected Palamon, 

1 Toward. 

2 The three Graces were personifications of grace and beauty. The Hours 
(Horse) were goddesses who presided over the change of seasons. Their 
dance represented the course of the seasons. 

3 The tropic of Cancer. In spring (March 21) the sun is directly over 
the equator, in summer (June 21) directly over the tropic of Cancer; and in 
this northward progress the motion is slower from day to day. 

* Offered. 5 in concealment. 

6 " Thought him," i.e., thought he. 
■^ Palamon. 8 Arcite. 



46 JOHN DRYDEN. [book ii. 

Who listening heard him ; while he searched the grove 

And loudly sung his roundelay of love ; 

But on the sudden stopped, and silent stood, 

(As lovers often muse, and change their mood, 80 

Now high as heaven, and then as low as hell ; 

Now up, now down, as buckets in a well ; ^ 

For Venus, like her day,2 will change her cheer. 

And seldom shall we see a Friday clear.) 

Thus Arcite, having sung, with altered hue 85 

Sunk on the ground, and from his bosom drew 

A desperate sigh, accusing Heaven and Fate, 

And angry Juno's unrelenting hate : — 

" Cursed be the day when first I did appear ; 

Let it be blotted from the calendar, 90 

Lest it pollute the month, and poison all the year. 

Still will the jealous queen pursue our race ? 

Cadmus is dead, the Theban city was ; ^ 

Yet ceases not her hate, for all who come 

From Cadmus are involved in Cadmus' doom. 95 

I suffer for my blood ; unjust decree, 

That punishes another's crime on me ! 

In mean estate I serve my mortal foe, 

The man who caused my country's overthrow. 

This is not all ; for Juno, to my shame, 100 

Has forced me to forsake my former name : 

Arcite I was, Philostratus I am. 

That side of heaven ^ is all my enemy : 

Mars ruined Thebes ; his mother ruined me. 

Of all the royal race remains but one 105 

Besides myself, — the unhappy Palamon, 

1 Directly from Chaucer. 

2 Friday is named for the Saxon goddess Freya, who corresponds to the 
Roman goddess Venus. 

3 "The Theban city was." Compare Vergil: "Troy was," i.e., is no 
more. 4 Another astrological allusion. 



BOOK :ii.] PALAMON AND. ARCITE. 47 

Whom Theseus holds in bonds, and will not free ; 

Without ^ a crime, except his kin to me. 

Yet these, and all the rest, I could endure, 

But love's a malady without a cure : no 

Fierce Love has pierced me with his fiery dart, 

He fries ^ within, and hisses at my heart. 

Your eyes, fair Emily, my fate pursue;^ 

I suffer for the rest,* I die for you. 

Of such a goddess no "time leaves record, 115 

Who burned the temple where she was adored:^ 

And let it burn ; I never will complain. 

Pleased with my sufferings, if you knew my pain." 

At this a sickly qualm his heart assailed, 
His ears ring inward, and his senses failed.^ 120 

No word missed Palamon of all he spoke ; 
But soon 'o deadly pale he changed his look; 
He trembled, every limb, and felt a smart. 
As if cold steel had glided through his heart ; 
Nor longer, staid ; but starting from his place, 125 

Discovered stood, and showed his hostile face : 
" False traitor Arcite, traitor to thy blood, 
Bound by thy sacred oath to seek my good, 
Now art thou found forsworn for Emily, 
And darest attempt her love, for whom I die. 130 

So hast thou cheated Theseus with a wile, 
Against thy vow, returning to beguile 
Under a borrowed name ; as false "^ to me, 
So false thou art to him who set thee free. 

1 Modifies Palamon. 

2 Not so grotesque when Dryden wrote. Some later editors have changed 
it to " fires." 

8 Follow out ; fulfill. * As in line 109. 

5 " Of such a goddess," etc., two lines taken from Carew. 
-6 " His ears ring," etc. Such discords of tense are common as the poem 
proceeds. 7 Supply " thou art. " 



48 JOHN DRYDEN. [book ii. 

But rest assured that either thou shah die 135 

Or else renounce thy claim in Emily ; 

For though unarmed I am, and (freed by chance) 

Am here without my sword or pointed lance, 

Hope not, base man, unquestioned hence to go, 

For I am Palamon, thy mortal foe." 140 

Arcite, who heard his tale, and knew 1 the man, 
His sword unsheathed, and fiercely thus began : 
** Now, by the gods, who govern heaven above, 
Wert thou not weak with hunger, mad with love. 
That word had been thy last, or in this grove 145 

This hand should force thee to renounce thy love. 
The surety which I gave thee, I defy ; 
Fool, not to know that love endures no tie, 
And Jove but laughs at lovers' perjury! ^ 
Knov/ I will serve the fair in thy despite ; ^ 150 

But — since thou art my kinsman, and a knight — 
Here, have my faith : to-morrow in this grove 
Our arms shall plead the titles of our love : 
And Heaven so help my right, as I alone * 
Will come, and keep the cause and quarrel both unknown, 155 
With arms of proof ^ both for myself and thee ; 
Choose thou the best, and leave the worst to me. 
And, that at better ease thou may'st abide, 
Bedding and clothes I will this night provide, 
And needful sustenance, that thou may'st be 160 

A conquest better won, and worthy me." 
His promise Palamon accepts ; but prayed 
To keep it better than the first he made. 
Thus fair they parted till the morrow's dawn, 
For each had laid his phghted faith to pawn.^ 165 

1 Recognized. 

2 " And Jove," etc., an old saying often quoted. 

3 " In thy despite," i.e., in spite of thee. ^ Without followers. 
5 Proved ;. tested in quality. 6 In pledge. 



BOOK II.] PALAMON AND ARCITE. 49 

O Love! thou sternly dost thy power maintain, 

And wilt not bear a rival in thy reign ; 

Tyrants and thou all fellowship disdain. 

This was in Arcite proved, and Palamon — 

Both in despair, yet each would love alone. 170 

Arcite returned, and, as in honor tied,i 

His foe with bedding and with food supplied ; 

Then, ere the day, two suits of armor sought, 

Which, borne before him on his steed, he brought ; 

Both were of shining steel, and wrought so pure 175 

As might the strokes of two such arms endure. 

Now, at the time, and in the appointed place, 

The challenger and challenged, face to face, 

Approach ; each other from afar they knew. 

And from afar their hatred changed their hue. 180 

So stands the Thracian herdsman with his spear. 

Full in the gap, and hopes - the hunted bear. 

And hears him rusthng in the wood, and sees 

His course at distance by the bending trees. 

And thinks : " Here comes my mortal enemy, 185 

And either he must fall in fight, or I." 

This while he thinks, he lifts aloft his dart ; 

A generous ^ chillness seizes every part ; 

The veins pour back the blood, and fortify the heart. 

Thus pale they meet ; their eyes with fury burn ; 190 

None * greets ; for none the greeting will return ; 
But, in dumb surHness, each armed with care 
His foe professed, as brother of the war.^ 
Then both, no moment lost, at once advance 
Against each other, armed with sword and lance; 195 

1 We should say "bound." 2 Hopes for; expects. 

3 Stimulating, or perhaps, here, courageous. 

4 Neither. 

5 " His foe professed," etc. This courtesy is characteristic of the days of 
chivalry. 



50 JOHN DRYDEN. [book ii. 

They lash, they foin,^ they pass, they strive to bore 

Their corselets, and the thinnest parts explore. 

Thus two long hours in equal arms they stood,^ 

And, wounded, wound ; till both were bathed in blood ; 

And not a foot of ground had either got, 200 

As if the world depended on the spot. 

Fell 3 Arcite like an angry tiger fared. 

And like a lion Palamon appeared ; 

Or, as two boars, whom love to battle draws, 

With rising bristles, and with frothy jaws; 205 

Their adverse ^ breasts with tusks oblique they wound ; 

With grunts and groans the forest rings around. 

So fought the knights, and fighting must abide 

Till Fate an umpire sends their difference to decide. 

The power that ministers to God's decrees, 210 

And executes on earth what Heaven foresees. 

Called Providence, or Chance, or Fatal Sway, 

Comes with resistless force, and finds or makes her way. 

Nor kings, nor nations, nor united power, 

One moment can retard the appointed hour; 215 

And some one day, some wondrous chance appears, 

Which happened not in centuries of years. 

For sure, whate'er we mortals hate, or love. 

Or hope, or fear, depends on Powers above ; 

They move our appetites to good or ill, 220 

And by foresight necessitate ^ the will. 

In Theseus this appears, whose youthful joy 

Was beasts of chase in forests to destroy ; 

This gentle knight, inspired by jolly May, 

Forsook his easy couch at early day, 225 

And to the wood and wilds pursued his way. 

1 Thrust. 

2 " In equal arms," i.e., neither gaining advantage. Compare the mean- 
ing of the same expression, p. 27, line 147. 3 Fierce. ^ Opposed. 

5 Compel. This is the doctrine of fatality, denying the freedom of the will. 



I 



BOOK II.] PALAMON AND ARCITE. 51 

Beside him rode Hippolyta the queen, 

And Emily attired in hvely green, 

With horns and hounds and all the tuneful cry, 

To hunt a royal hart within the covert nigh ; 230 

And as he followed Mars before, so now 

He serves the goddess of the silver bow.^ 

The way that Theseus took was to the wood 

Where the two knights in cruel battle stood ; 

The laund^ on which they fought, the appointed place 235 

In which the uncoupled ^ hounds began the chase. 

Thither forthright ^ he rode to rouse the prey. 

That, shaded by the fern, in harbor lay; 

And thence dislodged, was wont to leave the wood, 

For open fields, and cross the crystal flood. 240 

^ Approached, and looking underneath the sun, 

He saw proud Arcite, and fierce Palamon, 

In mortal battle doubling blow on blow ; 

Like lightning flamed their fauchions ^ to and fro, 

And shot a dreadful gleam ; so strong they strook,"^ 245 

There seemed less force required to fell an oak. 

He gazed with wonder on their equal might. 

Looked eager on, but knew not either knight. 

Resolved to learn, he spurred his fiery steed 

With goring rowels, to provoke his speed. 250 

The minute ended that began the race,^ 

So soon he was betwixt them on the place ; 

And with his sword unsheathed, on pain of life 

Commands both combatants to cease their strife ; 

1 Diana, goddess of hunting. 

2 Open space ; glade. Compare " lawn." 

3 Released from their couples. 
* Straight forward. 

5 Supply "having" or "he." ^ Falchions. 

'^ Struck (old form). 

8 "The minute ended," etc., i.e., the race ended in the same minute in 
which it began. 



52 JOHN DRYDEN. [book ii. 

Then with imperious tone pursues his threat: — 255 

"What are you? why in arms together met? 

How dares your pride presume against my laws, 

As in a hsted field ^ to fight your cause, — 

Unasked the royal grant, no marshal by. 

As knightly rites require, nor judge to try? " 260 

Then Palamon, with scarce recovered breath, 

Thus hasty 2 spoke : " We both deserve the death, 

And both would ^ die ; for, look the world around, 

A pair so wretched is not to be found. 

Our Hfe's a load ; encumbered with the charge,* 265 

We long to set the imprisoned soul at large. 

Now, as thou art a sovereign judge, decree 

The rightful doom of death to him and me ; 

Let neither find thy grace ; for grace is cruelty. 

Me first, oh, kill m^e first; and cure my woe! 270 

Then sheathe the sword of justice on my foe; 

Or kill him first ; for when his name is heard, 

He foremost will receive his due reward. 

Arcite of Thebes is he, — thy mortal foe. 

On whom thy grace did liberty bestow; 275 

But first contracted that, if ever found 

By day or night upon the Athenian ground, 

His head should pay the forfeit. See returned 

The perjured knight, his oath and honor scorned ; 

For this is he who, with a borrowed name 280 

And proffered service, to thy palace came ; 

Now called Philostratiis ; retained by thee, 

A traitor trusted, and in high degree, 

Aspiring to the hand of beauteous Emily. 

My part remains : ^ from Thebes my birth I own, 285 

And call myself the unhappy Palamon. 

1 " Listed field," i.e., a field formally prepared for trial by combat. 

2 Hastily. 3 Wish to. 4 Burden. 
5 " My part remains," i.e., now for my case. 



BOOK II.] PA LAM ON AND ARCITE. 53 

Think me not like that man ; since no disgrace 

Can force me to renounce the honor of my race. 

Know me for what I am : I broke my chain, 

Nor promised I thy prisoner to remain ; 290 

The love of liberty with life is given, 

And life itself ^ the inferior gift of Heaven. 

Thus without crime I fled ; but farther know, 

I, with this Arcite, am thy mortal foe. 

Then give me death, since I thy hfe pursue; 295 

For safeguard of thyself, death is my due. 

More would'st thou know? I love bright Emily, 

And for her sake and in her sight will die. 

But kill my rival too, for he no less 

Deserves ; and I thy righteous doom will bless, 300 

Assured that what I lose, he never shall possess." 

To this replied the stern Athenian prince. 

And sourly smiled : " In owning your offense 

You judge yourself, and I but keep record ^ 

In place of law, while you pronounce the word. 305 

Take your desert, the death you have decreed ; 

I seal your doom, and ratify the deed. 

By Mars, the patron of my arms, you die." 

He said ; dumb sorrow seized the standers-by. 
The queen above the rest, by nature good, 310 

(The pattern formed of perfect womanhood) 
For tender pity wept ; when she began. 
Through the bright quire ^ the infectious virtue ran; 
All dropped their tears, even the contended maid ; * 
And thus among themselves they softly said: — 315 

** What eyes can suffer this unworthy sight! 
Two youths of royal blood, renowned in fight, 

1 Supply " is but." 

2 Re-cord' (like the verb). 

3 See Note 2, p. 23. 

* " The contended maid," i.e., the maid about whom there was contention. 



54 JOHN DRYDEN. [book ii. 

The mastership ^ of Heaven in face and mind, 

And lovers, far beyond their faithless kind. 

See their wide, streaming wounds; they^ neither came 320 

From pride of empire, nor desire of fame. 

King^ fight for kingdoms, madmen for applause ; 

But love ^ for love alone, that crowns the lover's cause." 

This thought, which ever bribes the beauteous kind. 

Such pity wrought in every lady's mind, 325 

They left their steeds, and prostrate on the place. 

From the fierce king implored the offenders' grace. 

He paused awhile, stood silent in his mood, 
(For yet his rage was boiling in his blood) ; 
But soon his tender mind the impression felt, 330 

(As softest metals are not slow to melt, 
And pity soonest runs in gentle ^ minds) ; 
Then reasons with himself ; and first he finds 
His passion cast a mist before his sense. 
And either made or magnified the offense. 335 

Offense? Of what? To whom? Who judged the cause? 
The prisoner freed himself by Nature's laws ; 
Born free, he sought his right : the man he ^ freed 
Was perjured, but his love excused the deed. 
Thus pondering, he looked under ^ with his eyes, 340 

And saw the women's tears, and heard their cries. 
Which moved compassion more ; he shook his head, 
And softly sighing, to himself he said : 

" Curse on the unpardoning prince whom tears can draw 
To no remorse ; who rules by lions' law, 345 

And deaf to prayers, by no submission bowed. 
Rends all alike, the penitent and proud!" 
At this, with look serene, he raised his head, 
Reason resumed her place, and passion fled ; 

1 Masterpiece, or showing the master skill of Heaven. 

2 The wounds. 3 Supply " fights." 

* See Note 4, p. 42. 5 Theseus. 6 Downward. 



BOOK II.] PALAMON AND ARCITE. 55 

Then thus aloud he spoke : " The power of Love,i 350 

In earth, and seas, and air, and heaven above, 

Rules, unresisted, with an awful nod,^ 

By daily miracles declared a god ; 

He blinds the wise, gives eyesight to the bhnd, 

And molds and stamps anew the lover's mind. 355 

Behold that Arcite, and this Palamon, 

Freed from my fetters, and in safety gone ; 

What hindered either in their native soil 

At ease to reap the harvest of their toil? 

But Love, their lord, did otherwise ordain, 360 

And brought them, in their own despite, again 

To suffer death deserved ; for well they know 

'Tis in my power, and I their deadly foe. 

The proverb holds, that to be wise and love 

Is hardly granted to the gods above. 365 

See how the madmen bleed! behold the gains 

With which their master. Love, rewards their pains ; 

For seven long years, on duty every day, 

Lo their obedience, and their monarch's pay! 

Yet, as in duty bound, they serve him on, 370 

And — ask the fools — they think it wisely done; 

Nor ease, nor wealth, nor life itself, regard, 

For 'tis their maxim, ' Love is love's reward.' 

This is not all ; the fair, for whom they strove. 

Nor knew before, nor could suspect their love, 375 

Nor thought, when she beheld the fight from far, 

Her beauty was the occasion of the war. 

But sure a general doom on man is passed, 

And all are fools and lovers, first or last ; 

1 " The god of love, ah! benedicite, \ 

How mighty and how great a lord is he! " 

Chaucer. 

2 A reference to the nod with which Jupiter confirmed his decrees (see 
Iliad, Pope's translation, I. 684). 



56 JOHN DRYDEN. [book ii. 

This both by others and myself I know, 380 

For I have served their sovereign long ago ; 

Oft have been caught within the winding train 

Of female snares, and felt the lover's pain, 

And learned how far the god can human hearts constrain. 

To this remembrance, and the prayers of those 385 

Who for the offending warriors interpose, 

I give their forfeit lives, on this accord : ^ 

To do me homage as their sovereign lord, 

And as my vassals, to their utmost might. 

Assist my person, and assert my right." 390 

This freely sworn, the knights their grace obtained ; 

Then thus the king his secret thoughts explained : 

" If wealth, or honor, or a royal race, 

Or each, or all may win a lady's grace. 

Then either of you knights may well deserve 395 

A princess born ; and such is she you serve ; 2 

For Emily is sister to the crown,^ 

And but too well to both her beauty known. 

But should you combat till you both were dead. 

Two lovers cannot wed a single maid ; 400 

As, therefore, both are equal in degree. 

The lot of both be left to destiny. 

Now hear the award, and happy may it prove 

To her, and him who best deserves her love. 

Depart from hence in peace, and, free as air, 405 

Search the wide world, and where you please repair ; 

But on the day when this returning sun 

To the same point ^ through every sign has run, 

Then each of you his hundred knights shall bring, 

In royal lists ^ to fight before the king; 410 

1 " On this accord," i.e., on these terms. 

2 A lover was said to " serve " the lady he sued. 3 gee Note i, p. 27. 
* At the end of a year, having passed through every sign of the zodiac. 

Chaucer has " fifty weeks," 5 See Note i, p. 52, 



BOOK II.] PALAMON AND ARCITE. 57 

And then the knight, whom Fate or happy Chance 

Shall with his friends to victory advance, 

And grace his arms so far in equal fight, 

From out the bars ^ to force his opposite, 

Or kill, or make him recreant ^ on the plain, 415 

The prize of valor and of love shall gain ; 

The vanquished party shall their claim release. 

And the long jars conclude in lasting peace. 

The charge be mine to adorn the chosen ground, 

The theater of war, for champions so renowned; 420 

And take the patron's place of either knight, 

With eyes impartial to behold the fight ; 

And Heaven of me so judge as I shall judge aright. 

If both are satisfied with this accord. 

Swear by the laws of knighthood on my sword." 425 

Who now but Palamon exults with joy? ^ 
And ravished Arcite seems to touch the sky. 
The whole assembled troop was pleased as well, 
Extolled the award, and on their knees they fell 
To bless the gracious king. The knights with leave 430 
Departing from the place, his last commands receive. 
On Emily with equal ardor look. 
And from her eyes their inspiration took ; 
From thence to Thebes' old walls pursue their way, 
Each to provide his champions for the day. 435 

It might be deemed, on our historian's part, 
Or too much negligence, or want of art. 
If he forgot the vast magnificence 
Of royal Theseus, and his large expense. 
He first inc'osed for hsts a level ground, 440 

The whole circumference a mile around ; 

1 The barriers, palisades surrounding the " listed field." 

2 One who admits defeat. 
^ Observe the rhyme. 



58 JOHN DRYDEN. [book li. 

The form was circular ; and all without 

A trench was sunk, to moat the place about. 

Within an amphitheater appeared, 

Raised in degrees,^ to sixty paces reared, 445 

That, when a man was placed in one degree, 

Height was allowed for him above to see. 

Eastward was built a gate of marble white ; 
The like adorned the western opposite. 
A nobler object than this fabric was, 450 

Rome never saw, nor of so vast a space ; 
For, rich with spoils of many a conquered land. 
All arts and artists ^ Theseus could command — 
Who sold for hire, or wrought for better fame — 
The master painters and the carvers came. 455 

So rose within the compass of the year 
An age's work, a glorious theater. 
Then o'er its eastern gate was raised, above, 
A temple, sacred to the queen of love ; ^ 
An altar stood below ; on either hand 460 

A priest with roses crowned, who held a myrtle wand. 

The dome of Mars was on the gate opposed,* 
And on the north a turret was inclosed 
Within the wall, of alabaster white 

And crimson coral, for the queen of night,^ 465 

Who takes in S5dvan sports her chaste delight. 

Within these oratories ^ might you see 
Rich carvings, portraitures, and imagery ; 
Where every figure to the life expressed 
The godhead's power to whom it was addressed. 470 

In Venus' temple on the sides were seen 
The broken slumbers of enamored men, 
Prayers that even spoke, and pity seemed to call, 
And issuing sighs that smoked along the wall ; 

1 Steps. 2 Supply "that." 3 Venus. 

4 Opposite. 5 Diana. See Note i, p. 31. 6 Chapels. 



BOOK II.] PALAMON AND ARCITE. 59 

Complaints and hot desires, the lover's hell. 475 

And scalding tears that wore a channel where they fell ; 

And all around were nuptial bonds, the ties 

Of love's assurance,^ and a train of lies 

That, made in lust, conclude in perjuries. 

Beauty, and Youth, and Wealth, and Luxury, 480 

And sprightly Hope, and short-enduring Joy ; 

And Sorceries to raise the infernal powers. 

And Sigils ^ framed in planetary hours ; 

Expense, and Afterthought, and idle Care, 

And Doubts of motley hue, and dark Despair; 485 

Suspicions, and fantastical Surmise, 

And Jealousy suffused,^ with jaundice in her eyes. 

Discoloring all she viewed, in tawny * dressed, 

Down-looked,^ and with a cuckow ^ on her fist. 

Opposed to her, on the other side advance 490 

The costly feast, the carol, and the dance ; 

Minstrels and music, poetry and play. 

And balls by night, and tournaments by day.'^ 

All these were painted on the walls, and more ; 

With acts and monuments of times before ; 495 

And others added by prophetic doom,^ 

And lovers yet unborn, and loves to come : 

For there the IdaHan ^ mount, and Citheron,!^ 

The court of Venus, was in colors drawn ; 

Before the palace gate, in careless dress 500 

And loose array, sat portress Idleness ; 

1 "The ties of love's assurance," i.e., the ties that assure, or insure, love. 

2 Seals with the signs of the planets. 

3 With the yellow of jaundice. 

4 A noun; i.e., tawny color. 

5 With eyes downcast. 6 The cuckoo was the bird of deception. 
1 Cf. p. 81, line 415. 

8 Destiny. 

9 A mountain in Cyprus, sacred to Venus. 

10 A range of mountains in Greece, sacred to the gods. 



6o JOHN DRYDEN. [book ii. 

There, by the fount, Narcissus ^ pined alone ; 

There Samson ^ was, with wiser Solomon,^ 

And all the mighty names by love undone. 

Medea's^ charms were there; Circean^ feasts, 505 

With bowls that turned enamored youths to beasts. 

Here might be seen that beauty, wealth, and wit. 

And prowess, to the power of love submit ; 

The spreading snare for all mankind is laid. 

And lovers all betray, and are betrayed. 510 

The goddess' self some noble hand had wrought ; 

Smiling she seemed, and full of pleasing thought ; 

From ocean as she first began to rise,*^ 

And smoothed the ruffled seas and cleared the skies. 

A lute she held, and on her head was seen 515 

A wreath of roses red, and myrtles green ; 

Her turtles '^ fanned the buxom ^ air above, 

And by his mother stood an infant Love,^ 

With wings unfledged ; his eyes were banded o'er ; ^^ 

His hands a bow, his back a quiver bore, 520 

Supplied with arrows bright and keen, a deadly store. 

But in the dome of mighty Mars the red ^^ 
With different figures all the sides were spread ; 

1 A beautiful youth who fell in love with his own image in the water, 
and, unable to grasp it, pined away and was changed into a flower. 

2 A sudden change from the classical to the scriptural (see Judges xiii.- 
xvi). Samson was the Hercules of Israel. 

3 A famous king of Israel, B.C. 993-953 (see I. Kings xi.). 

4 A sorceress who fell in love with Jason, leader of the Argonautic ex- 
pedition, and by the aid of her magic charms enabled him to perform safely 
the tasks through which he gained the Golden Fleece. 

5 Circe was an enchantress mentioned in Homer's Odyssey, who, after 
inviting men to her feasts, drugged them with wine which changed them to 
beasts. 

6 According to one legend of her birth, Venus sprang from the sea. 

■^ Turtledoves. § Yielding. ^ Cupid, the god of love. 

10 " His eyes," etc., " Love is blind." 

11 Red, because identified with " bloody " war. 



BOOK II.] PA LA HON AND ARCITE. 6i 

This temple,^ less in form, with equal grace, 

Was imitative of the first in Thrace ;2 525 

For that cold region was the loved abode 

And sovereign mansion of the warrior god. 

The landscape was a forest wide and bare, 

Where neither beast nor humankind repair ; 

The fowl, that scent afar, the borders fly, 530 

And shun the bitter blast, and wheel about the sky. 

A cake of scurf lies baking on the ground, 

And prickly stubs, instead of trees, are found ; 

Or woods with knots and knares ^ deformed and old, 

Headless the most, and hideous to behold; 535 

A rattling tempest through the branches went. 

That stripped them bare, and one sole way they bent. 

Heaven froze above, severe, the clouds congeal. 

And through the crystal vault appeared the standing hail.* 

Such was the face without : a mountain stood 540 

Threatening from high, and overlooked the wood ; 

Beneath the lowering brow, and on a bent,^ 

The temple stood of Mars armipotent,^ 

The frame of burnished steel, that cast a glare 

From far, and seemed to thaw the freezing air. 545 

A straight long entry to the temple led. 

Blind ^ with high walls, and horror overhead ; 

Thence issued such a blast and hollow roar 

As threatened from the hinge to heave the door ; • 

1 This describes not the oratory of Mars, but a painting in it representing 
a temple. 

2 A country north of the ^gean Sea, corresponding nearly to modern 
Turkey. 

3 Gnarls ; knots. 

4 " Standing hail," i.e., hail heaped in clouds, ready to fall, or perhaps 
falling in vertical lines. 

5 Mountain slope. Chaucer has " under a bent." 

6 Powerful in arms. 

7 Dark. 



62 JOHN DRYDEN. [book II. 

In through that door, a northern hght^ there shone ; 550 

'Twas all it had, for windows there were none. 

The gate was adamant ; (eternal frame ! ) 

Which, hewed by Mars himself, from Indian quarries came, 

The labor of a god ; and all along 

Tough iron plates were clinched to make it strong. 555 

A tun about ^ was every pillar there ; 

A polished mirror shone not half so clear. 

There saw I how the secret felon wrought, 

And treason laboring in the traitor's thought. 

There the red Anger dared the pallid Fear; 560 

Next stood Hypocrisy, with holy leer, 

Soft smiling, and demurely looking down, 

But hid the dagger underneath the gown ; ^ 

The assassinating wife, the household fiend ; 

And far the blackest there, the traitor friend. 565 

On the other side there stood Destruction bare, 

Unpunished Rapine, and a waste of war ; 

Contest, with sharpened knives in cloisters drawn, 

And all with blood bespread the holy lawn. 

Loud menaces were heard, and foul disgrace, 570 

And bawling infamy, in language base ; 

Till sense was lost in sound, and silence fled the place. 

The slayer of himself yet ^ saw I there. 

The gore congealed was clottered^ in his hair; 

Wilh eyes half closed and gaping mouth he lay, 575 

And grim as when he breathed his sullen soul away. 

In midst of all the dome, Misfortune sate. 

And gloomy Discontent, and fell Debate, 

And Madness laughing in his ireful mood. 

And armed Complaint on theft, and cries of blood. 580 

1 A light from the north ; probably no reference to the aurora borealis. 

2 " A tun about," i.e., of the circumference of a large cask. 

^ " But hid," etc. Chaucer's one line is stronger: " The smiler with the 
knife under his cloak." * Moreover. 5 Clotted. 



BOOK II.] PA LAM ON AND ARCITE. 63 

There was the murdered corpse, in covert laid, 

And violent death in thousand shapes displayed : — 

The city to the soldier's rage resigned, 

Successless wars, and poverty behind ; 

Ships burnt in fight, or forced on rocky shores, 585 

And the rash hunter strangled by the boars ; ^ 

The new-born babe by nurses overlaid, - 

And the cook caught within the raging fire he made. 

All ills of Mars his ^ nature, flame and steel : 

The gasping charioteer beneath the wheel 590 

Of his own car, the ruined house that falls 

And intercepts her lord betwixt the walls ; 

The whole division that to Mars pertains, 

All trades of death that deal in steel for gains 

Were there: the butcher, armorer, and smith, 595 

Who forges sharpened fauchions or the scythe. 

The scarlet Conquest ^ on a tower was placed, 

With shouts and soldiers' acclamations graced ; 

A pointed sword hung threatening o'er his head, 

Sustain'd but by a slender twine of thread. 600 

There saw I Mars his ides, the Capitol, 

The seer in vain foretelling Caesar's fall ; 

The last triumvirs, and the wars they move, 

And Antony, who lost the world for love.^ 

1 Chaucer has " bears." Bears would be more likely to " strangle." 

2 Lain upon and so smothered. 

3 Mars'. This form was used in Dryden's time from a false idea that it 
was the original form of the possessive case. It was used especially after a 
word ending in " s," such words as " Mars's " being awkward. 

* Statue or figure of Conquest; possibly " Conqueror." 
5 "There saw I," etc. Caius Julius Caesar (B.C. 100-44), the famous 
Roman general, statesman, author, and orator, acquired so much power 
after his great conquests that a conspiracy was formed to assassinate him on 
the ides of March, i.e., March 15, B.C. 44, in the Senate House (which 
Dryden erroneously calls the Capitol). A Greek philosopher warned Caesar, 
by letter, of his impending fate, but the warning remained unread (see 



64 JOHN DRYDEN. [book ii. 

These, and a thousand more, the fane adorn ; 605 

Their fates were painted ere the men were born. 

All copied from the heavens, and ruhng force 

Of the red star,i in his revolving course. 

The form of Mars high on a chariot stood. 

All sheathed in arms, and gruffly looked the god; 610 

Two geomantic figures were displayed 

Above his head, a warrior and a maid,^ 

One when direct, and one when retrograde. 

Tired with deformities of death, I haste 
To the third temple of Diana chaste. 615 

A sylvan scene with various greens was drawn, 
Shades on the sides, and in the midst a lawn ; 
The silver Cynthia,^ with her nymphs around. 
Pursued the flying deer, the woods with horns resound. 
CaHsto* there stood manifest of shame, 620 

And, turned a bear, the northern star became ; 
Her son was next, and, by pecuhar grace. 
In the cold circle ^ held the second place. 
The stag Actaeon ^ in the stream had spied 
The naked huntress, and, for seeing, died; 625 

Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Act ii. Scenes iii. and iv.). The second 
("last") triumvirate, formed after Caesar's death, in B.C. 42, consisted of 
Octavian, Lepidus, and Mark Antony. Antony spent the last years of his 
life in the company of Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, and killed himself on 
receiving a false report of her death. 

1 The planet Mars. 

2 " Two geomantic figures," etc. Geomancy was a kind of divination by 
means of figures formed of dots, plotted originally on the ground, and later 
on paper. In this case the figures represented Mars direct and Mars retro- 
grade, the former called by Chaucer, Rubeus, the warrior ; the latter, Puella, 
the maid. 3 Diana. 

4 Calisto, one of Jupiter's favorites, was changed by Juno into a bear. 
Afterwards, according to one version of the legend, she and her son Areas 
were slain by Diana, and changed by Jupiter to stars. 

5 Arctic circle. 6 See Note i, p. 31. 



BOOK II.] PALAMON AND ARCITE. 65 

His hounds, unknowing of his change, pursue 

The chase, and their mistaken master slew. 

Peneian Daphne,^ too, was there to see,^ 

Apollo's love before, and now his tree. 

The adjoining fane the assembled Greeks expressed,^ 630 

And hunting of the Calydonian beast ; 

CEnides' valor, and his envied prize, 

The fatal power of Atalanta's eyes, 

Diana's vengeance on the victor shown, 

The murderess mother, and consuming son,* 635 

The Volscian queen ^ extended on the plain, 

The treason punished, and the traitor slain. 

The rest were various huntings, well designed, 

And savage beasts destroyed, of every kind. 

The graceful goddess was arrayed in green ; 640 

About her feet were little beagles ^ seen, 

That watched with upward eyes the motions of their queen. 

Her legs were buskined, and the left before,^ 

In act to shoot ; a silver bow she bore. 

And at her back a painted quiver wore. 645 

1 The nymph Daphne, daughter of the river god Peneus, being pursued 
by Apollo, who loved her, besought Diana to transform her into a laurel tree. 
Her prayer was granted, and the tree thereafter became sacred to Apollo. 

2 To be seen. 3 Showed. 

* " And hunting," etc. The Calydonian hunt was the chase for a savage 
boar sent by Diana to punish CEneus, king of Calydon (a city in western 
Greece) for a neglect of sacrifice. Meleager, or CEnides (son of CEneus), 
slew the boar, and gave the head and hide, the "prize," to the beauti- 
ful huntress, Atalanta, who had been the first to strike the boar. Diana 
provoked a contest over the prize, during which Meleager slew his mother's 
brothers. She in revenge burned the log whereon depended her son's life, 
and he died a sudden death. Hence " murderess mother." 

5 The Volscian queen was Camilla, whose story is told in Vergil's 
^neid. She led the Volscians to battle against ^neas, but was killed by 
an arrow from a soldier who lay in concealment. Her death was avenged 
by Diana, who slew the soldier. 

6 Small hounds. 7 Advanced; used here as adjective. 

5 



66 JOHN DRYDEN. [book ii. 

She trod a wexing^ moon, that soon would wane, 
And, drinking borrowed hght,^ be filled again ; 
With downcast eyes, as seeming to survey 
The dark dominions, her alternate sway.-^ 
Theseus beheld the fanes of every god, 650 

And thought his mighty cost was well bestowed. 
(So princes now their poets should regard ; 
But few can write, and fewer can reward.)^ 
The theater thus raised, the lists inclosed, 
And all with vast magnificence disposed, 655 

We leave the monarch pleased, and haste to bring 
The knights to combat, and their arms to sing. 

^ Waxing. 

2 ** And drinking," etc. ; an allusion to the fact that the moon reflects the 
light of the sun. 

3 "The dark dominions," etc. According to some of the later Greek 
legends, Proserpina, queen of Hades, was the goddess of nature, who both 
produced and destroyed everything. In this view (as here) she was identified 
with Diana ; hence the '* alternate sway " of Diana over the sky and the lower 
regions. See Note i, p. 75, " triple shape." 

* " So princes," etc., a hint to Dryden's royal readers. 



BOOK III. 

The day approached when Fortune should decide 

The important enterprise, and give the bride ; 

For now, the rivals round the world had sought, 

And each his number, well appointed, brought. 

The nations, far and near, contend in choice, 5 

And send the flower of war by pubhc voice ; 

That 1 after, or before, were never known 

Such chiefs, as ^ each an army seemed alone. 

Beside ^ the champions, all * of high degree. 

Who knighthood loved and deeds of chivalry, 10 

Thronged to the lists, and envied to behold 

The names of others, not their own, enrolled. 

Nor seems it strange ; for every noble knight 

Who loves the fair, and is endued with might, 

In such a quarrel would be proud to fight. 15 

There breathes not ^ scarce a man on British ground 

(An isle for love and arms of old renowned) 

But would have sold his hfe to purchase fame, 

6 To Palamon or Arcite sent his name ; 

And had the land selected of the best, 20 

Half had come hence,'^ and let the world provide the rest. 

1 So that. 2 So valiant that. 3 Besides. 

4 " All " is the subject of the sentence. Supply " men." 

5 We should omit the " not." 

6 Supply "and." 7 From England. 

67 



68 JOHN DRYDEN. [book hi. 

A hundred knights with Palamon there came, 

Approved in fight, and men of mighty name ; 

Their arms were several,^ as their nations were, 

But 2 furnished all ahke with sword and spear: 25 

Some wore coat armor,^ imitating scale, 

And next their skins were stubborn shirts of mail ; 

Some wore a breastplate and a light jupon,* 

Their horses clothed with rich caparison ; 

Some for defense would leathern bucklers use, 30 

Of folded hides, and others shields of Pruce ; ^ 

One hung a poleax at his saddlebow. 

And one a heavy mace to stun the foe ; 

One for his legs and knees provided well. 

With jambeux^ armed, and double plates of steel; 35 

This on his helmet wore a lady's glove. 

And that a sleeve embroidered by his love.'^ 

With Palamon above the rest in place, 
Lycurgus came, the surly king of Thrace : 
Black was his beard, and manly was his face ; 40 

The balls of his broad eyes rolled in his head, 
And glared betwixt a yellow and a red ; 
He looked a lion with a gloomy stare. 
And o'er his eyebrows hung his matted hair ; 
Big-boned, and large of limbs, with sinews strong, 45 

Broad-shouldered, and his arms were round and long. 
Four milk-white bulls (the Thracian use ^ of old) 
Were yoked to draw his car of burnished gold. 
Upright he stood, and bore aloft his shield ; 
Conspicuous from afar, and overlooked the field. 50 

1 Various. 2 Supply " they were. " 

^ A richly embroidered garment worn over the armor. 

4 A sleeveless, tight-fitting jacket worn over the armor. 

5 Prussia, which of course was unknown to Theseus. 

6 Armor for the legs. 

■7 " This on his helmet," etc. A common custom in tournament. 
8 Custom. 



BOOK III.] PALAMON AND ARCITE, 69 

His surcoat was a bearskin on his back ; 

His hair hung long behind, and glossy raven black. 

His ample forehead bore a coronet 

With sparkhng diamonds and with rubies set. 

Ten brace, and more, of greyhounds, snowy fair, 55 

And tall as stags, ran loose, and coursed around his chair, 

A match for pards^ in flight, in grappling for the bear; 

With golden muzzles all their mouths were bound, 

And collars of the same ^ their necks surround. 

Thus through the iields Lycurgus took his way ; 60 

His hundred knights attend in pomp and proud array. 

To match this monarch, with strong Arcite came 
Emetrius, king of Inde, a mighty name, 
On a bay courser, goodly to behold. 

The trappings of his horse embossed with barbarous gold ; 65 
Not Mars bestrode a steed with greater grace. 
His surcoat o'er his arms was cloth of Thrace, 
Adorned with pearls, all orient,^ round, and great ; 
His saddle was of gold, with emeralds set ; 
His shoulders large a mantle did attire, 70 

With rubies thick, and sparkling as the fire ; 
His amber-colored locks in ringlets run. 
With graceful negligence, and shone against the sun. 
His nose was aquiline, his eyes were blue. 
Ruddy his hps, and fresh and fair his hue ; 7 5 

Some sprinkled freckles on his face were seen, 
Whose dusk set off the whiteness of the skin ; 
His awful presence did the crowd surprise, 
Nor durst the rash spectator meet his eyes. 
Eyes that confessed him born for kingly sway, 80 

So fierce, they flashed intolerable day. 
His age in nature's youthful prime * appeared, 
And just began to bloom his yellow beard. 

1 Leopards. 2 Qf gold, an awkward construction. 

3 Lustrous like the dawn. * " Five and twenty yeer " (Chaucer). 



70 JOHN DRYDEN. [book hi. 

Whene'er he spoke, his voice was heard around, 

Loud as a trumpet, with a silver sound ; 85 

A laurel wreathed his temples, fresh and green, 

And myrtle sprigs, the marks of love, were mixed between. 

Upon his fist he bore, for his dehght, 

An eagle well reclaimed,^ and lily white. 

His hundred knights attend him to the war, 90 

All armed for battle ; save their heads were bare. 
Words and devices blazed on every shield. 
And pleasing was the terror of the field ; 
For kings, and dukes, and barons you might see, 
Like sparkhng stars, though different in degree, — 95 

All for the increase of arms,^ and love of chivalry. 
Before the king tame leopards led the way. 
And troops of lions innocently play ; 
So Bacchus ^ through the conquered Indies rode. 
And beasts in gambols frisked before their honest ^ god. 100 

In this array the war ^ of either side 
Through Athens passed with military pride. 
At prime ^ they entered on the Sunday morn ; 
Rich tapestry spread the streets, and flowers the pots'^ adorn. 
The town was all a jubilee of feasts ; 105 

So Theseus willed, in honor of his guests ; 
Himself with open arms the kings embraced. 
Then all the rest in their degrees were graced. 
No harbinger 8 was needful for the night. 
For every house was proud to lodge a knight. no 

I pass the royal treat, nor must relate 
The gifts bestowed, nor how the champions sate; 

1 Tamed. 

2 " Increase of arms," i.e., advancement of skill in arms. 

3 God of wine. 

* In the sense of the Latin, honestus, handsome. 

5 Army. 6 About nine o'clock. 

■^ Later editions read "posts." 

8 A herald sent in advance to bespeak lodgings. 



BOOK III.] PALAMON AND ARCITE. 7 1 

Who first, who last, or how the knights addressed 

Their vows, or who was fairest at the feast, 

Whose voice, whose graceful dance, did most surprise 115 

Soft amorous sighs and silent love of eyes. 

The rivals call my Muse another way. 

To sing their vigils for the ensuing day. 

'Twas ebbing darkness, past the noon of night, 
And Phosphor,! on the confines of the light, 120 

Promised the sun ; ere day began to spring. 
The tuneful lark already stretched her wing, 
And, flickering on her nest, made short essays to sing. 

When wakeful Palamon, preventing ^ day. 
Took to the royal lists his early way, 125 

To Venus at her fane, in her own house, to pray. 
There, falling on his knees before her shrine. 
He thus implored with prayers her power divine : 
" Creator Venus, genial ^ power of love, 
The bliss of men below, and gods above! 130 

Beneath the shding sun * thou runn'st thy race, 
Dost fairest shine, and best become thy place. 
For thee the winds their eastern blasts forbear, 
Thy month ^ reveals the spring, and opens all the year. 
Thee, goddess, thee the storms of winter fly ; 135 

Earth smiles with flowers renewing, laughs the sky, 
And birds to lays of love their tuneful notes apply. 
'Tis thine, whate'er is pleasant, good, or fair ; 
All nature is thy province, life thy care ; 
Thou madest the world, and dost the world repair. 140 

Thou gladder ^ of the mount of Citheron,^ 
Increase ^ of Jove, companion of the sun, 

1 Phosphorus, the morning star. 2 Anticipating. 3 Fruitful. 

* *t Beneath the sliding sun," i.e., next to the sun, according to early as- 
tronomy. 

5 May. 6 One who makes glad. 

''' See Note 10, p. 59. 8 Offspring. 



72 ' JOHN DRYDEN. [book hi. 

If e'er Adonis ^ touched thy tender heart, 

Have pity, goddess, for thou know'st the smart! 

Alas! I have not words to tell my grief; 145 

To vent my sorrow would be some relief ; 

Light sufferings give us leisure to complain ; 

We groan, but cannot speak, in greater pain. 

O goddess, tell, thyself, what I would say. 

Thou know'st it, and I feel too much to pray. 150 

So grant my suit, as I enforce my might. 

In love to be thy champion, and thy knight ; 

A servant to thy sex, a slave to thee, 

A foe professed to barren chastity. 

Nor ask I fame or honor of the field, 155 

Nor choose I more to vanquish than to yield ; 

In my divine Emiha make me blessed. 

Let Fate, or partial Chance, dispose the rest : 

Find thou the manner, and the means prepare ; 

Possession, more than conquest, is my care.2 160 

Mars is the warrior's god ; in him it hes 

On whom he favors to confer the prize ; 

With smiling aspect you serenely move 

In your fifth ^ orb, and rule the realm of love. 

The Fates ^ but only spin the coarser clue, 165 

The finest of the wool is left for you ; 

Spare me but one small portion of the twine, 

And let the sisters cut below your line : ^ 

The rest among the rubbish may they sweep, 

Or add it to the yarn of some old miser's heap. 170 

1 A beautiful youth, beloved of Venus, who died, while hunting, from a 
wound inflicted by a boar. 

2 " Possession," etc. Note what he asks, — not victory, but Emily. 

3 Fifth, beginning with Saturn : Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sol, Venus. The 
astrology here is Dryden's, not Chaucer's. 

* " And let the sisters," etc., i.e., let the Fates cut off my thread of life be- 
low the line where your influence ends,— all that is not blessed by love. 



BOOK III.] PA LAM ON AND ARCITE, 73 

But if you this ambitious prayer deny, 

(A wish, I grant, beyond mortality) 

Then let me sink beneath proud Arcite's arms, 

And I once dead, let him possess her charms." 

Thus ended he; then with observance due 175 

The sacred incense on her altar threw ; 
The curling smoke mounts heavy from the fires; 
At length it catches flame, and in a blaze expires. 
At once the gracious goddess gave the sign. 
Her statue shook, and trembled all the shrine; 180 

Pleased Palamon the tardy omen took, 
For, since the flames pursued the trailing smoke, 
He knew his boon was granted, but the day 
To distance driven, and joy adjourned with long delay.^ 

Now morn with rosy Hght had streaked the sky, 185 

Up rose the sun, and up rose Emily ; 
Addressed her early steps to Cynthia's fane, 
In state attended by her maiden train, , 

Who bore the vests ^ that holy rites require, 
Incense, and odorous gums, and covered fire; 190 

The plenteous horns with pleasant mead they crown. 
Nor wanted aught besides in honor of the Mocn.^ 
Now while the temple smoked with hallowed steam, 
They wash the virgin in a Hving * stream ; 
The secret ceremonies I conceal, 195 

Uncouth,^ perhaps unlawful, to reveal ; 
Well-meaners think no harm ; but for the rest, 
Things sacred they pervert, and silence is the best. 

The Fates were three sisters supposed to determine the course of man's life. 
The first held the distaff, the second spun the thread, and the third cut it 
off. 

1 " He knew," etc., i.e., since the omen was tardy (line 181) he knew the 
day on which his hopes would be fulfilled was far off. 

2 Garments. S The moon goddess, Diana. 
* Flowing ; not stagnant. 5 Mysterious. 



74 JOHN DRYDEN. [book hi. 

Her shining hair, uncombed, was loosely spread ; 

A crown of mastless ^ oak adorned her head ; 200 

When to the shrine approached, the spotless maid 

Had kindling fires on either altar ^ laid ; 

(The rites were such as were observed of old, 

By Statins^ in his Theban story told.) 

Then kneeling with her hands across her breast, 205 

Thus lowly she preferred ^ her chaste request : 

" O goddess, haunter of the woodland green, 
To whom both heaven and earth and seas are seen ; 
Queen of the nether skies,^ where half the year 
Thy silver beams descend, and light the gloomy sphere ; 2 10 
Goddess of maids, and conscious of our hearts, 
So^ keep me from the vengeance of thy darts, 
(Which Niobe's '^ devoted issue felt, 
When hissing through the skies the feathered deaths were 

dealt,) 
As ^ I desire to hve a virgin life, 215 

Nor know the name of mother or of wife. 
Thy votress ^ from my tender years I am. 
And love, like thee, the woods and sylvan game. 
Like death, thou kriow'st, I loathe the nuptial state, 
And man, the tyrant of our sex, I hate ; 220 

A lowly servant,^ but a lofty ^^ mate. 

1 Bearing no mast, i.e., acorns. 

2 " Either altar," i.e., both altars. 

3 Roman poet, A.D. 45-96, author of the epic Thebais, the source of 
much of the legendary history of Thebes. 

4 Offered; presented. ^ See Note i, p. 75, and Note 3, p. 66. 

6 Note the construction. " As " looks back to " so." 

7 Niobe, queen of Thebes, boasted herself greater than Latona, because 
she had fourteen children, whereas the goddess had but two. Latona there- 
upon commanded her children, Apollo and Diana, to shoot to death with arrows 
(" feathered deaths ") the seven sons and seven daughters of Niobe. 

8 Votaress, i.e., devoted to Diana's service from childhood up. 

9 Lover. See Note 2, p. 56. i*^ Haughty. 



BOOK III.] PALAMON AND ARCITE. 75 

Now by thy triple shape/ as thou art seen 

In heaven, earth, hell, and everywhere a queen, 

Grant this my first desire ; let discord cease. 

And make betwixt the rivals lasting peace: 225 

Quench their hot fire, or far from me remove 

The flame, and turn it on some other love ; 

Or — if my frowning stars have so decreed 

That one must be rejected, one succeed — 

Make him my lord, within whose faithful breast 230 

Is fixed my image, and who loves me best. 

But oh! even that avert; I choose it not. 

But take it as the least unhappy lot. 

A maid I am, and of thy virgin train ; 

Oh, let me still that spotless name retain! 235 

Frequent the forests, thy chaste will obey. 

And only make the beasts of chase my prey!" 

The flames ascend on either altar clear, 
While thus the blameless maid addressed her prayer. 
When lo! the burning fire that shone so bright, 240 

Flew off, all sudden, with extinguished light, 
And left one altar dark a little space, 
Which turned 2 self-kindled, and renewed the blaze ; 
That other victor flame a moment stood. 
Then fell, and lifeless left the extinguished wood : 245 

Forever lost, the irrevocable light 
Forsook the blackening coals, and sunk to night ; 
At either end it whistled as it flew. 
And, as ^ the brands were green, so dropped the dew. 
Infected as it fell with sweat of sanguine hue. 250 

The maid from that ill omen turned her eyes, 
And with loud shrieks and clamors rent the skies, 

1 " Triple shape," i.e., in heaven as goddess of the moon ; on earth as the 
huntress ; in hell as Proserpina, queen of the lower regions. See also Note 3, 
p. 66. 

2 Became in turn. 3 As if. 



76 JOHN DRY DEN. [book hi. 

Nor knew what signified the boding sign, 

But found the powers displeased, and feared the wrath divine. 

Then shook the sacred shrine, and sudden Hght 255 

Sprung through the vaulted roof, and made the temple bright. 
The Power, behold! the Power in glory shone, 
By her bent bow and her keen arrows known ; 
The rest,^ a huntress issuing from the wood. 
Reclining on her cornel spear she stood. 260 

Then gracious thus began: "Dismiss thy fear, 
And Heaven's unchanged decrees attentive hear ; 
More powerful gods have torn thee from my side, 
Unwilling to resign, and doomed a bride ; 
The two contending knights are weighed above ; 265 

One Mars protects, and one the queen of love : 
But which the man, is in the Thunderer's breast ; ^ 
This he pronounced ' Tis he who loves thee best.' 
The fire that, once extinct, revived again, 
Foreshows the love allotted to remain. 270 

Farewell!" she said, and vanished from the place; 
The sheaf of arrows shook, and rattled in the case. 
Aghast at this the royal virgin stood. 
Disclaimed, and now no more a sister of the wood : 
But to the parting goddess thus she prayed: 275 

" Propitious still, be present to my aid, 
Nor quite abandon your once favored maid." 
Then sighing she returned ; but smiled betwixt,^ 
With hopes, and fears, and joys with sorrows mixed. 

The next returning planetary hour 280 

Of Mars, who shared the heptarchy ^ of power, 

1 In other respects as. 

2 "But which," etc., i.e., but Jupiter (Jupiter Tonans, the Thunderer) 
alone knows which man is to win you. 

3. " Smiled betwixt," i.e., smiled between the sighs. 

4 There were supposed to be only seven planets. The next hour of Mars 
would fall on Monday, three hours after sunrise. 



BOOK III.] PALAMON AND ARCITE. 77 

His Steps bold Arcite to the temple bent, 

To adore with pagan rites the power armipotent : 

Then prostrate, low before his altar lay. 

And raised his manly voice, and thus began to pray : 285 

" Strong god of arms, whose iron scepter sways 

The freezing North, and Hyperborean ^ seas. 

And Scythian ^ colds, and Thracia's ^ wintry coast. 

Where stand thy steeds, and thou art honored most, — 

(There most, but everywhere thy power is known.) 290 

The fortune of the fight is all thy own ; 

Terror is thine, and wild amazement, flung 

From out thy chariot, withers even the strong ; 

And disarray and shameful rout ensue, 

And force is added to the fainting crew.^ 295 

Acknowledged as thou art, accept my prayer! 

If aught ^ I have achieved deserve thy care. 

If to my utmost power with sword and shield 

I dared the death, unknowing how to yield, 

And, falling in my rank, still kept the field ; 300 

Then let my arms prevail, by thee sustained. 

That Emily by conquest may be gained. 

Have pity on my pains ; nor those unknown 

To Mars,^ which, when a lover, were his own. 

Venus, the public care of all above, 305 

Thy stubborn heart has softened into love ; 

By those dear pleasures, aid my arms in fight, 

And make me conquer in my patron's right ; 

For I am young, a novice in the trade. 

The fool of love, unpracticed to persuade, 310 

And want the soothing arts that catch the fair, 

But, caught myself, lie struggling in the snare ; 

1 The Hyperboreans were a people who enjoyed perpetual sunshine. 

2 See Note i, p. 21. ^ See Note 2, p. 61. 
4 See Note 2, p. 25. ^ Supply " that." 

6 Mars was the only one of the gods who won Venus 's love. 



78 JOHN DRYDEN. [book iii. 

And she I love, or laughs at all my pain, 

Or knows her worth too well, and pays me with disdain. 

For sure I am, unless I win in arms, 315 

To stand excluded from Emilia's charms ; 

Nor can my strength avail, unless by thee 

Endued with force, I gain the victory ; 

Then for^ the fire, which warmed thy generous heart, 

Pity thy subject's pains and equal smart. 320 

So be the morrow's sweat and labor mine. 

The palm and honor of the conquest thine ; 

Then shall the war, and stern debate, and strife 

Immortal, be the business of my life ; 

And in thy fane, the dusty spoils among, 325 

High on the burnished roof my banner shall be hung. 

Ranked with my champions' bucklers, and below, 

With arms reversed, the achievements ^ of my foe ; 

And while these Kmbs the vital spirit feeds, 

While day to night, and night to day succeeds, 330 

Thy smoking altar shall be fat with food 

Of incense, and the grateful steam of blood ; 

Burnt offerings morn and evening shall be thine, 

And fires eternal in thy temple shine. 

The bush of yellow beard, this length of hair, 335 

Which from my birth inviolate I bear, 

Guiltless of steel, and from the razor free, 

Shall fall a plenteous crop, reserved for thee.^ 

So may my arms with victory be blessed, 

I ask no more ; ^ let Fate dispose the rest." 340 

The champion ceased ; there followed in the close ^ 
A hollow groan ; a murmuring wind arose ; 

1 For the sake of. 2 Armorial bearings. 

3 " The bush," etc. This was a common vow. 

^ " So may my arms," etc. Note his mistake ; he asks for victory, hot for 
Emily. 

5 Inclosed hall. 



BOOK III.] PALAMON AND ARCITE. 79 

The rings of iron, that on the doors were hung, 

Sent out a jarring sound, and harshly rung ; 

The bolted gates flew open at the blast ; 345 

The storm rushed in, and Arcite stood aghast ; 

The flames were blown aside, yet shone they bright, 

Fanned by the wind, and gave a ruflled light. 

Then from the ground a scent began to rise, 
Sweet smelling as accepted sacrifice ; 350 

This omen pleased, and as the flames aspire. 
With odorous incense Arcite heaps the fire ; 
Nor wanted hymns to Mars, or heathen charms. 
At length the nodding statue clashed his arms, 
And with a sullen sound and feeble cry, 355 

Half sunk, and half pronounced the word of *' Victory." ^ 
For this, with soul devout, he thanked the god, 
And, of success secure, returned to his abode. 

These vows thus granted, raised a strife above 
Betwixt the god of war, and queen of love. 360 

She, granting first, had right of time to plead ; 
But he had granted too, nor would recede. 
Jove ^ was for Venus, but he feared his wife * 
And seemed unwilling to decide the strife 
Till Saturn 5 from his leaden throne arose, 365 

And found a way the difference to compose ; 

1 "And with a sullen sound," etc. Observe that the omen is given 
gloomily and with reluctance. 

2 Confident. 3 The Greek name for Jupiter. 

4 Juno was sure to be jealous of any woman, goddess or mortal, favored 
by Jupiter. 

5 Father of Jupiter, and god of agriculture. This description of Saturn 
is due to a confusion of the god with the planet. It was the influence of the 
planet, not of the god, that was baleful. The planet was most powerful when 
in the sign of Capricorn. When in conjunction ("joined") with Mars in 
Capricorn, Saturn obscured him (line 375). Two planets in a "trine," or 
120° apart, had a good influence on each other. Therefore Saturn, being to 
Venus " trined" (line 373), was moved to assist her at the expense of Mars. 



8o JOHN DRYDEN. [book in 

(Though, sparing of his grace, to mischief bent, 

He seldom does a good with good intent.) 

Wayward, but wise, by long experience taught, 

To please both parties, for ill ends, he sought; 37c 

For this advantage age from youth has won, 

As not to be outridden, though outrun.^ 

By fortune he has now to Venus trined,^ 

And with stern Mars in Capricorn was joined : 

Of him disposing in his own abode, ^ 375 

He soothed the goddess, while he gulled the god : 

" Cease, daughter, to complain, and stint ^ the strife ; 

Thy Palamon shall have his promised wife ; 

And Mars, the lord of conquest, in the fight 

With palm and laurel shall adorn his knight. 38c 

Wide is my course, nor turn I to my place 

Till length of time, and move with tardy pace. 

Man feels me, when I press the ethereal plains ; 

My hand is heavy, and the wound remains. 

Mine is the shipwreck, in a watery sign ; 385 

And in an earthy, the dark dungeon mine.^ 

Cold shivering agues, melancholy care. 

And bitter blasting winds and poisoned air 

Are mine, and willful death resulting from despair. 

The throttling quinsy 'tis my star appoints, 390 

And rheumatisms I send ^ to rack the joints. 

When churls rebel against their native prince, 

I arm their hands, and furnish the pretense ; 

1 " As not to be outridden," etc." This is meaningless; it results from 
misunderstanding Chaucer's line, " Men may the old at-renne [outrun], 
and noght [not] at-rede [outwit]." 

2 See Note 5, p. 79. 3 Stop. 

4 " Mine is," etc., i.e., In a watery sign I cause shipwreck; in an earthy 
sign, imprisonment. The different signs of the zodiac had a distinct relation to 
the four elements ; three were watery, three earthy, three fiery, and three airy. 

5 Some texts erroneously print " ascend." 



BOOK III.] PALAMON AND ARCITE. 8l 

And, housing in the lion's hateful sign, 
Bought senates, and deserting troops are mine. 395 

Mine is the privy ^ poisoning ; I command 
Unkindly seasons and ungrateful land.^ 
By me kings' palaces are pushed to ground. 
And miners crushed beneath their mines are found. 
'Twas I slew Samson, when the pillared hall 400 

Fell down, and crushed the many with the fall.^ 
My looking is the sire of pestilence * 
That sweeps at once the people and the prince. 
Now weep no more, but trust thy grandsire's art ; 
Mars shall be pleased, and thou perform thy part. 405 

'Tis ill (though different your complexions ^ are) 
The family of Heaven for men should war." 
The expedient pleased, where neither lost his right; 
Mars had the day, and Venus had the night ; ^ 
The management they left to Chronos'" care. 410 

Now turn we to the effect,^ and sing the war. 
In Athens all was pleasure, mirth, and play 
All proper to the spring, and sprightly May ; 
Which every soul inspired with such delight 
'Twas justing all the day, and love at night. 415 

Heaven smiled, and gladded was the heart of man ; 
And Venus had the world as when it first began. 

1 Secret. 

2 "I command," etc. Note here especially the contradiction between 
Saturn, the god, and the planet. Italy was called Saturnia, or land of plenty, 
in honor of Saturn, who taught the people agriculture and introduced among 
them civilization and morality. 

3 See Judges xvi. 26-30. 

* " My looking," etc., i. e., my glance sends pestilence into the world. 

5 Dispositions ; temperaments. 

6 " Mars had the day," etc. ; Mars was to have his way in the battle, 
Venus hers in the wedding. 

7 Chronos, time, was confused with Cronos, the Greek name for Saturn. 

8 The result. 

6 



82 JOHN DRYDEN. [book hi. 

At length in sleep their bodies they compose, 
And dreamt the future fight, and early rose. 

Now scarce the dawning day began to spring, 420 

As at a signal given, the streets with clamors ring : 
At once the crowd arose ; confused and high, 
Even from the heaven was heard a shouting ciy. 
For Mars was early up, and roused the sky. 
The gods came downward to behold the wars, 425 

Sharpening their sights, and leaning from their stars. 
The neighing of the generous ^ horse was heard, 
For battle by the busy groom prepared ; 
Rusthng of harness, rattling of the shield, 
Clattering of armor, furbished for the field. 430 

Crowds to the castle mounted up the street, 
Battering the pavement with their coursers' feet ; 
The greedy sight might there devour the gold 
Of gUttering arms too dazzling to behold. 
And polished steel that cast the view aside, 435 

And crested morions,- with their plumy pride. 
Knights, with a long retinue ^ of their squires. 
In gaudy liveries march, and quaint attires. 
One laced the helm, another held the lance ; 
A third the shining buckler did advance.^ 440 

The courser pawed the ground with restless feet. 
And snorting foamed, and champed the golden bit. 
The smiths and armorers on palfreys ride. 
Files in their hands, and hammers at their side. 
And nails for loosened spears,^ and thongs for shields 

provide. 445 

The yeomen guard the streets in seemly bands. 
And clowns come crowding on, with cudgels in their hands. 

The trumpets, next the gate in order placed. 
Attend ^ the sign to sound the martial blast ; 

1 Spirited. 2 Open helmets. 3 Pronounce here retin'tie, 

^ Uplift. 5 Spearheads. 6 Await. 



BOOK III.] PALAMON AND ARCITE, 83;; 

The palace yard is filled with floating tides, . ;' 450 
And the last comers bear the former to the sides. 
The throng is in the midst ; the common crew 
Shut out, the hall admits the better few ; 
In knots they stand, or in a rank they walk, 
Serious in aspect, earnest in their talk ; - 455 

Factious, and favoring this or t'other side. 
As their strong fancies and weak reason guide. 
" : Their wagers back their wishes ; numbers hold 
With the fair freckled king,^ and beard of gold ; 
So vigorous are his eyes, such ra5^s they cast, 460 

So prominent his eagle's beak is placed. 
But most their looks on the black monarch 2 bend. 
His rising muscles and his brawn commend, 
His double-biting ax and beamy spear,^ 
Each asking a gigantic force to rear. ^ 465 

All spoke as partial favor moved the mind ; 
And, safe themselves, at others' cost divined. 
; Waked by the cries, the Athenian chief arose. 
The knightly forms of combat to dispose. 
And passing through the obsequious guards, he sate 470 
Conspicuous on a throne, subHme in state. 
There for the two contending knights he sent ; 
Armed cap-a-pe,^ with reverence low they bent ; 
He smi ed on both, and with superior look 
Alike their offered adoration took. 475 

The people press on every side to see 
Their awful prince, and hear his high decree. 
Then, signing to their heralds with his hand, 
They gave his orders from their lofty stand. 
Silence is thrice enjoined ; then thus aloud 480 

The king-at-arms ^ bespeaks the knights and listening crowd : 

1 Emetrius. See p. 69, line 63. 2 Lycurgus. See p. 68, line 39. 

3 " His double-biting," etc., i.e., his double-edged ax and beamlike spear. 

4 " Cap-a-pie," from head to foot. 5 The chief of the heralds. 



84 JOHN DRYDEN. [book hi. 

" Our sovereign lord has pondered in his mind 
The means to spare the blood of gentle kind ; ^ 
And of his grace and inborn clemency, 
He modifies his first severe decree, 485 

The keener edge of battle to rebate,^ 
The troops for honor fighting, not for hate. 
He wills, not death should ^ terminate their strife. 
And wounds, if wounds ensue, be short of life ; * 
But issues, ere the fight, his dread command 490 

That slings afar and poniards hand to hand 
Be banished from the field ; that none shall dare 
With shortened sword to stab in closer war ; 
But in fair combat fight with mxanly strength, 
Nor push with biting ^ point, but strike at length.^ 495 

The tourney is allowed but one career 
Of the tough ash with the sharp-grinded spear ; ^ 
But knights unhorsed may rise from off the plain, 
And fight on foot their honor to regain ; 
Nor, if at mischief^ taken, on the ground 500 

Be slain, but prisoners to the pillar bound. 
At either barrier placed ; nor (captives made) 
Be freed, or, armed anew, the fight invade. 
The chief of either side bereft of life. 

Or yielded to his foe, concludes the strife. 505 

Thus dooms ^ the lord. Now, vaUant knights and young, 
Fight each his fill with swords and maces long! " 

The herald ends. The vaulted firmament 
With loud acclaims and vast applause is rent : 
" Heaven guard a prince so gracious and so good, 510 

So just, and yet so provident ^^ of blood! " 

1 " Of gende kind," i.e., people of good birth; compare " gentlefolk." 

2 Soften ; mitigate. 

3 ** Not death should," i.e., that death should not. 

* " Short of life," i.e., not mortal. 5 Sharp. 6 At fair distance. 

■^ Spearhead. 8 At disadvantage. ^ Commands. 10 Sparing. 



BOOK III.] PALAMON AND ARCITE. 85 

This was the general cry. The trumpets sound, 

And warhke symphony is heard around. 

The marching troops through Athens take their way, 

The great earl-marshal orders their array. * 515 

The fair from high the passing pomp behold ; 

A rain of flowers is from the windows rolled ; 

The casements are with golden tissue spread, 

And horses' hoofs, for earth, on silken tapestry tread. 

The king goes midmost, and the rivals ride 520 

In equal rank, and close ^ his either side. 

Next after these there rode the royal wife. 

With Emily — the cause and the reward of strife. 

The following cavalcade, by three and three, 

Proceed, by titles marshaled in degree. 525 

Thus through the southern gate they take their way, 

And at the list arrived ere prime of day. 

There, parting from the king, the chiefs divide, 

And wheeling east and west, before their many ^ ride. 

The Athenian monarch mounts his throne on high, 530 

And after him the queen and Emily ; 

Next these, the kindred of the crown are graced 

With nearer seats, and lords by ladies placed. 

Scarce were they seated, when, with clamors loud, 

In rushed at once a rude promiscuous crowd ; 535 

The guards, and then each other, overbear, 

And in a moment throng the spacious theater. 

Now changed the jarring noise to whispers low, 

As winds forsaking seas more softly blow ; 

When at the western gate on which the car 540 

Is placed aloft, that bears the god of war, 

Proud Arcite, entering armed before his train, 

Stops at the barrier, and divides the plain ; 

1 A verb, here meaning inclose ; ride close to. 

2 Troop of followers ; sometimes spelled " meiny." 



$6 : JOHN DRYDEN. [Sqok ill. 

Red was his banner and displayed abroad 

The bloody colors of his patron god. 545 

At that self 1 moment enters Palamon 
The gate of Venus and the rising sun ; 
Waved by the wanton winds, his banner flies, 
All maiden white, and shares the people's eyes. 
From east to west, look all the world around, 550 

Two troops so matched were never to be found ; 
. - : Such bodies built for strength, of equal age, 
In stature sized, so proud an equipage; 
The nicest 2, eye could no distinction make 
Where lay the advantage, or what side to take. 555 

Thus ranged, the herald for the last^ proclaims 
A silence, while they answered to their names ; 
For so the king decreed, to shun with care 
The fraud of musters false, the common bane of war. 
The tale was just,^ and then the gates were closed ; 560 
And chief to chief, and troop to troop opposed. 
The heralds last retired, and loudly cried, 
" The fortune of the field be fairly tried." 

At this, the challenger, with fierce defy,* 
His trumpet sounds ; the challenged makes reply ; 565 

With clangor rings the field, resounds the vaulted sky. 
; Their visors closed, their lances in the rest,^ 
Or at the hemlet pointed, or the crest, 
They vanish from the barrier, speed the race, 
And spurring see decrease the middle space. 570 

A cloud of smoke envelops either host. 
And all at once the combatants are lost ; 

1 Selfsame. 2 Most capable of making fine distinctions. 

3 Supply " time." 

* " The tale was just," i.e., the roll call proved correct. 

5 A noun here. 

6 A hook which bore much of the weight of the lance, attached to the side 
of the armor. 



BOOK III.]" PALAMON AND ARCITE. 87; 

Darkling they join adverse, and shock unseen, 

Coursers with coursers justHng, men with men ; 

As laboring in eclipse, awhile they stay, 575 

Till the next blast of wind restores the day. 

They look anew ; the beauteous form of fight 

Is changed, and war appears a grisly sight. 

Two troops in fair array one moment showed ; 

The next, a field with fallen bodies strowed ; 580 

Not half the number in their seats are found. 

But men and steeds lie groveling on the ground. 

The points of spears are stuck within the shield, 

The steeds without their riders scour the field ; 

The knights, unhorsed, on foot renew the fight; 585 

The glittering fauchions cast a gleaming light ; 

Hauberks ^ and helms are hewed with many a wound, 

Out spins the streaming blood and dyes the ground. 

The mighty maces with such haste descend, 

They break the bones, and make the solid armor bend. 590 

This 2 thrusts amid the throng with furious force ; 

Down goes, at once, the horseman and the horse ; 

That courser stumbles on the fallen steed. 

And, floundering, throws the rider o'er his head. 

One rolls along, a football to his foes; 595 

One with a broken truncheon deals his blows. 

This 2 halting, thi.^ disabled with his wound. 

In triumph led, is to the pillar bound, 

Where by the king's award he must abide ; 

There goes a captive led on t'other side. 600 

By fits 2 they cease, and leaning on the lance, 

Take breath awhile, and to new fight advance. 

Full oft the rivals met, and neither spared 
His utmost force, and each forgot to ward ; 
The head of this was to the saddle bent, 605 

That other backward to the crupper sent ; 
1 Long coats of mail. 2 This man. 3 At irregular intervals. 



8S JOHN DRYDEN. [book hi. 

Both were by turns unhorsed, the jealous blows 
Fall thick and heavy, when on foot they close ; 
So deep their fauchions bite, that every stroke 
Pierced to the quick ; and equal wounds they gave and 

took. 6io 

Borne far asunder by the tides of men. 
Like adamant and steel they meet again. 

So when a tiger sucks the bullock's blood, 
A famished Hon issuing from the wood 
Roars lordly fierce, and challenges the food. 615 

Each claims possession, neither will obey. 
But both their paws are fastened on the prey ; 
They bite, they tear ; and while in vain they strive. 
The swains come armed between, and both to distance 
drive. 

At length, as Fate foredoomed, and all things tend 620 
By course of time to their appointed end. 
So when the sun to west was far declined, 
And both afresh in mortal battle joined. 
The strong Emetrius came in Arcite's aid. 
And Palamon with odds was overlaid;^ 625 

For, turning short, he ^ struck with all his might 
Full on the helmet of the unwary knight. 
Deep was the wound, he ^ staggered with the blow 
And turned him to his unexpected foe, 
Whom with such force he struck, he felled him down, 630 
And cleft the circle of his golden crown. 
But Arcite's men, who now prevailed in fight. 
Twice ten at once surround the single knight : 
O'erpowered at length, they force him to the ground, 
Unyielded as he was, and to the pillar bound; 635 

And King Lycurgus, while he fought in vain 
His friend to free, was tumbled on the plain. 

1 Overmatched. 2 Emetrius. 3 Palamon. 



BOOK III.] PALAMON AND ARCITE. 89 

Who now laments but Palamon, compelled 
No more to try the fortune of the field! 
And, worse than death, to view with hateful 1 eyes 640 

His rival's conquest, and renounce the prize! 

The royal judge, on his tribunal placed. 
Who had beheld the fight from first to last, 
Bade cease the war ; pronouncing from on high, 
Arcite of Thebes had won the beauteous Emily. 645 

The sound of trumpets to the voice replied. 
And round the royal lists the heralds cried, 
"Arcite of Thebes has won the beauteous bride! " 

The people rend the skies with vast applause ; 
All own the chief, when Fortune owns the cause. 650 

Arcite is owned even by the gods above. 
And conquering Mars insults the queen of love. 
So laughed he when the rightful Titan 2 failed. 
And Jove's usurping arms in heaven prevailed ; 
Laughed all the powers who favor tyranny, 655 

And all the standing army of the sky. 
But Venus with dejected eyes appears, 
And, weeping, on the hsts distilled her tears ; 
Her will refused, which grieves a woman most, 
And, in her champion foiled, the cause of Love is lost. 660 
Till Saturn said, " Fair daughter, now be still. 
The blustering fool ^ has satisfied his will ; 
His boon is given ; his knight has gained the day, 
But lost the prize ; the arrears are yet to pay. 
Thy hour is come, and mine the care shall be 665 

To please thy knight and set thy promise free." 

Now while the heralds run the lists around. 
And "Arcite, Arcite! " heaven and earth resound, 

1 See Note 5, p, 29. 

2 " When the rightful Titan," etc. Saturn, one of the Titans (a race of 
deities who were the children of Heaven and Earth), was the supreme god 
until he was overcome by his son Jupiter. 3 Mars. 



90 JOHN DKYDEN. [book hi. 

A miracle (nor less it could be called) 

Their joy with unexpected sorrow palled. 670 

The victor knight had laid his helm aside, 

Part for his ease, the greater part for pride ; 

Bareheaded, popularly low he bowed, 

And paid the salutations of the crowd ; 

Then spurring at full speed, ran endlong 1 on 675 

Where Theseus sate on his imperial throne ; 

Furious he drove, and upward cast his eye, 

Where, next the queen, was placed his Emily ; 

Then passing, to the saddlebow he bent ; 

A sweet regard the gracious virgin lent,^ 680 

(For women, to the brave an easy prey, 

Still follow Fortune where she leads the way.) 

Just then, from earth sprung out a flashing fire, 

By Plut9 sent, at Saturn's bad desire ; 

The startling steed was seized with sudden fright, 685 

And, bounding, o'er the pommel cast the knight ; 

Forward he flew, and pitching on his head. 

He quivered with his feet,^ and lay for dead. 

Black was his countenance in a Httle space, 

For all the blood was gathered in his face, 690 

Help was at hand ; they reared him from the ground, 

And from his cumbrous arms his limbs unbound ; 

Then lanced a vein, and watched returning breath ; 

It came, but clogged with symptoms of his death. 

The saddlebow the noble parts had pressed. 695 

All bruised and mortified his manly breast. 

Him still entranced,* and in a Htter laid. 

They bore from field, and to his bed conveyed. 

At length he waked, and, with a feeble cry. 

The word he first pronounced was, " Emily." 700 

1 Along the lists, without pausing. 2 Gave. 

'..: 3 "He quivered," etc., i.e., his feet quivered. 
* Unconscious. 



1 



BObii^iit.] PALAMOK AND ARCITE, 91 

Meantime the king, though inwardly he mourned, 

In pomp triumphant to the town returned, 

Attended by the chiefs who fought the field, 
- • (Now friendly mixed, and in one troop compelled ; i) 
:_ Composed^ his looks to counterfeited cheer, 705 

And bade them not for Arcite's life to fear. 

But that which gladded all the warrior train, ^ 

Though most were sorely wounded, none were slain. _ 

The surgeons soon despoiled them of their arms, 
- - And some with salves they cure, and some with charms 1710 

Foment the bruises,* and the pains assuage. 

And heal their inward hurts with sovereign draughts of sage. 

The king in person visits all around. 

Comforts the sick, congratulates the sound, 
I - Honors the princely chiefs, rewards the rest, 715 

And holds for thrice three days a royal feast. 

None was disgraced; for falling is no shame, 

And cowardice alone is loss of fame. 

The venturous knight is from his saddle thrown. 

But 'tis the fault of Fortune, not his own ; 720 

\i crowds and palms the conquering side adorn. 

The victor under better stars was born. 

The brave man seeks not popular applause, 

Nor, overpowered with arms, deserts his cause ; 

Urishamed though foiled, he does the best he can; 725 

Force is of brutes, but honor is of man. 

Thus Theseus smiled on all with equal grace, 

And each was set according to his place ; 

With ease were reconciled the differing parts, 
'^ ■ ' For envy never dwells in noble hearts. 730 

1 Brought together. 

2 The subject of " composed" is " king," line 701. 

3 Supply " \\'as that.:" 

* As the rules shut out the use of most sharp weapons, bruises- were more 
common than wounds 



92 JOHN DRYDEN. [book in. 

At length they took their leave, the time expired, 
Well pleased, and to their several homes retired. 

Meanwhile the health of Arcite still impairs ; 
From bad proceeds to worse, and mocks the leech's ^ cares : 
Swollen is his breast, his inward pains increase; 735 

All means are used, and all without success. 
The clotted blood lies heavy on his heart, 
Corrupts, and there remains in spite of art ; 
Nor breathing 2 veins nor cupping^ will prevail, 
All outward remedies and inward fail ; 740 

The mold of nature's fabric is destroyed. 
Her vessels discomposed, her virtue void ; 
The bellows of his lungs begin to swell ; 
All out of frame is every secret cell, 

Nor can the good receive, nor bad expel. 745 

Those breathing organs, thus within oppressed. 
With venom soon distend the sinews of his breast. 
Naught profits him, to save abandoned life. 
Nor vomit's upward aid, nor downward laxative. 
The midmost region battered and destroyed, 750 

When nature cannot work, the effect of art is void ; 
For physic can but mend our crazy ^ state, 
Patch an old building, not a new create. 
Arcite is doomed to die in all his pride. 
Must leave his youth, and yield his beauteous bride, 755 
Gained hardly,^ against right,^ and unenjoyed. 
When 'twas declared all hope of life was past, 
Conscience (that of all physic works the last) 
Caused him to send for Emily in haste. 
With her, at his desire, came Palamon. 760 

Then on his pillow raised, he thus begun : 

1 Physician's. 2 Relieving by bleeding. 

3 Drawing the blood by the surgical device called a " cup." 

4 Feeble. 5 With difficulty (original meaning). 
6 Dryden takes Palamon's side. 



BOOK III.] PALAMON AND ARCITE. 93 

" No language can express the smallest part 
Of what I feel and suffer in my heart 
For you, whom best I love, and value most ; 
But to your service I bequeath my ghost ; 765 

Which, from this mortal body when untied. 
Unseen, unheard, shall hover at your side ; 
Nor fright you waking, nor your sleep offend. 
But wait officious,^ and your steps attend. 
2 How I have loved, excuse my faltering tongue, 770 

My spirit's feeble, and my pains are strong. 
This I may say, I only grieve to die, 
Because I lose my charming Emily. 
To die — when Heaven had put you in my power! 
Fate could not choose a more malicious hour. 775 

What greater curse could envious Fortune give. 
Than just to die when I began to live! 
Vain men! how vanishing a bliss we crave; 
Now warm in love, now withering in the grave! 
Never, oh, nevermore to see the sun! 780 

Still dark, in a damp vault, and still alone! 
This fate is common ; but I lose my breath 
Near bliss, and yet not blessed before my death. 
Farewell! but take me dying in your arms, 
'Tis all I can enjoy of all your charms ; 785 

This hand I cannot but in death resign, — 
Ah! could I live! — but while I live 'tis mine. 
I feel my end approach, and thus embraced. 
Am pleased to die ; but hear me speak my last : 
Ah, my sweet foe! for you, and you alone, 790 

I broke my faith with injured Palamon. 
But love the sense of right and wrong confounds. 
Strong love and proud ambition have no bounds. 
And much I doubt,^ should Heaven my life prolong, 
I should return to justify my wrong ; 795 

1 Eager to serve, 2 Supply " From telling you." ^ Fear that. 



94" JOHN DRYDEN. _ [book iii.^ 

For while my former flames remain within, 
Repentance is but want of power to sin. . 
With mortal hatred I pursued his life; 
■ Nor he, nor you, were guilty of the strife ; 
Nor I, but as I loved; yet all combined — 800 

Your beauty, and my impotence of mind, 
And his concurrent flame, that blew my fire ; 
For still our kindred souls had one desire. 
He had a moment's right in point of time ; 
Had I seen first, then his had been the crime. 805 

Fate made it mine, and justified his right. ^ 
Nor holds this earth a more deserving knight 
For virtue, valor, and for noble blood, 
Truth, honor, all that is comprised in good ; 
So help me Heaven, in all the world is none 810 

So worthy to be loved as Palamon. 
He loves you too, with such a holy fire, 
As will not, cannot, but with life expire : 
Our vowed affections both have often tried, 
Nor any love but yours could ours divide. 815 

Then, by my love's inviolable band, 
By my long suffering and my short command,'-^ 
If e'er you plight your vows when I am gone, 
Have pity on the faithful Palamon." 

This was his last ; for Death came on amain, 820 

And exercised below ^ his iron reign ; 
Then upward to the seat of life he goes ; 
Sense fled before him, what he touched he froze ; 
Yet could he ^ not his closing eyes withdraw, 
Though less and less of Emily he saw; 825 

1 All from 794 to 806 is inserted by Dryden. Chaucer's Arcite is not so 
repentant. 

2 " My short command," i.e., my short privilege as accepted lover. 

3 Beginning with the feet and moving up to the heart. 
■* Arcite. 



BOOK HI.]' PALAMON AND ARCITE. 95 

So, speechless for a little space he lay ; 

Then grasped the hand he held, and sighed his soul away. 

But whither went his soul let such relate 
Who search the secrets of the future state : 
Divines can say but what themselves believe ; 830 

Strong proofs they have, but not demonstrative ;i 
For, were all plain, then all sides must agree. 
And faith itself be lost in certainty. 
To live uprightly then is sure the best, — 
To save ourselves, and not to damn the rest. 835 

The soul of Arcite went where heathens go. 
Who better live than we, though less they know. 

In Palamon a manly grief appears. 
Silent 2 he wept, ashamed to show his tears ; 
Emilia shrieked but once, and then, oppressed 840 

With sorrow, sunk upon her lover's breast ; 
Till Theseus in his arms conveyed with care 
Far from so sad a sight the swooning fair. 
'Twere loss qf time her sorrow to relate ; 
111 bears the sex a youthful lover's fate, . -845 

When just approaching to the nuptial state. 
But, like a low-hung cloud, it rains so fast. 
That all at once it falls, and cannot last. 

The face of things is changed, and Athens now, 
That laughed so late, becomes the scene of woe : 850 

Matrons and maids, both sexes, every state. 
With tears lament the knight's untimely fate ; 
Nor greater grief in falling Troy was seen 
For Hector's death ; but Hector was not then.^ 

1 Having the nature of a demonstration; conclusive. 

2 Hardly according to Chaucer; he says: " Shrighte [shrieked] Emilye, 
and howleth Palamon." 

3 " But Hector," etc. The story of Palamon and Arcite antedates that 
of Hector, the hero of Troy in the Trojan war, who was slain by the Greek 
hero Achilles, and dragged thrice round the walls of Troy. 



g6 JOHN DRYDEN. [book hi. 

Old men with dust deformed their hoary hair, 855 

The women beat their breasts, their cheeks they tear:^ 
" Why would'st thou go," with one consent they cry, 
"When thou hadst gold enough, and Emily? " 

Theseus himself, who should have cheered the grief 
Of others, wanted now the same rehef. 860 

Old ^geus 2 only could revive his son. 
Who 3 various changes of the world had known, 
And strange vicissitudes of human fate, 
Still altering, never in a steady state, — 
Good after ill, and after pain, delight; 865 

Alternate like the scenes of day and night ; 
Since every man who lives is born .to die. 
And none can boast sincere ^ f ehcity, 

With equal mind, what happens, let us bear, 869 

Nor joy, nor grieve too much for things beyond our care. 
Like pilgrims to the appointed place we tend ; 
The world's an inn, and death the journey's end. 
Even kings but play, and when their part is done. 
Some other,^ worse or better, mount ^ the throne. 
With words like these the crowd was satisfied, — 875 

And so they would have been, had Theseus died.^ 

But he, their king, was laboring in his mind, 
A fitting place for funeral pomps to find. 
Which were in honor of the dead designed. 
And after long debate, at last he found 880 

(As Love itself had marked the spot of ground) 
That grove forever green, that conscious "^ laund^ 
Where he with Palamon fought hand to hand ; 

1 Some editions have " tare," past tense. 2 Father of Theseus. 

3 Antecedent, "^geus." 4 Unmixed. 

5 " Other" seems used here as a plural. Some editions, however, have 
' mounts." 

6 " And so," etc., a comment by Dryden. 

'^ Sympathetic ; conscious of v^hat had happened there. 
8 See Note 2, p. 51. 



BOOK III.] PALAMON AND ARCITE. 97 

That, where he fed his amorous desires 

With soft complaints and felt his hottest fires, 885 

There other flames might waste his earthly part. 

And burn his Hmbs where Love had burned his heart. 

This once resolved, the peasants were enjoined 
Sear wood,i and firs, and doddered ^ oaks to find. 
With sounding axes to the grove they go, 890 

Fell, split, and lay the fuel on a row, 
Vulcanian food ; ^ a bier is next prepared. 
On which the lifeless body should be reared. 
Covered ^ with cloth of gold ; on which was laid 
The corpse of Arcite, in like robes arrayed. 895 

White gloves ^ were on his hands, and on his head 
A wreath of laurel,^ mixed with myrtle, ^ spread. 
A sword keen-edged within his right he held, 
The warlike emblem of the conquered field ; 
Bare was his manly visage on the bier ; 900 

Menaced his countenance,^ even in death severe. 
Then to the palace hall they bore the knight, 
To He in solemn state, a public sight ; 
Groans, cries, and bowlings ^ fill the crowded place, 
And unaffected sorrow sat on every face. 905 

Sad Palamon above the rest appears. 
In sable garments, dewed with gushing tears ; 
His auburn locks on either shoulder flowed, 
Which to the funeral of his friend he vowed ; 
But Emily, as chief, was next his side, 910 

A virgin widow and a mourning bride. 
And that the princely obsequies might be 
Performed according to his high degree, 

^ Dry wood. 2 Decayed. 

3 " Vulcanian food," i.e., food for Vulcan (god of fire), hence for fire. 

* Modifies "bier," not "body." 

5 " White gloves," the mark of an unmarried person. 

6 The laurel was the victor's crown ; the myrtle was sacred to Venus. 
■7 Subject of " menaced." 8 See Note 4, p. 26. 

7 



98 JOHN DRYDEN. [book ill. 

The steed that bore him Hving to the fight 

Was trapped with polished steel, all shining bright 915 

And covered ^ with the achievements 2 of the knight. 

The riders rode abreast, and one his ^ shield, 

His lance of cornel wood another held, 

The third his bow, and, glorious to behold. 

The costly quiver, all of burnished gold. 920 

The noblest of the Grecians next appear, 

And, weeping, on their shoulders bore the bier ; 

With sober pace they marched, and often stayed, 

And through the master street ^ the corpse conveyed. 

The houses to their tops with black were spread, 925 

And even the pavements were with mourning hid. 

The right side of the pall old ^geus kept. 

And on the left the royal Theseus wept ; 

Each bore a golden bowl, of work divine, .929 

With honey filled, and milk, and mixed with ruddy wine. 

Then Palamon, the kinsman of the slain, 

And after him appeared the illustrious train. 

To grace the pomp came Emily the bright, 

With covered fire, the funeral pile to light. 

With high devotion was the service made, 935 

And all the rites of pagan honor paid : 

So lofty was the pile, a Parthian ^ bow, 

With vigor drawn, must send the shaft below. 

The bottom was full twenty fathom broad, 939 

With crackling straw beneath in due proportion strowed. 

The fabric seemed a wood of rising green, 

With sulphur and bitumen cast between 

To feed the flames ; the trees were unctuous fir. 

And mountain ash, the mother of the spear ; 

1 Modifies " steel." 2 See Note 2, p. 78. 

3 Arcite's. 4 Principal street. 

5 Parthia was a country of western Asia (southeast of the Caspian Sea), 
whose soldiers were famed for their skill in archery. 



BOOK III.] PA LAM ON AND ARCITE. 99 

The mourner yew,i and builder oak were there, 945 

The beech, the swimming 2 alder, and the plane, 

Hard box, and linden of a softer grain, 

And laurels, which the gods for conquering chiefs ordain.^ 

How they were ranked, shall rest untold by me, 

With^ nameless nymphs ^ that lived in every tree ; 950 

Nor how the Dryads ^ or the woodland train, 

Disherited,'^ ran howling o'er the plain ; 

Nor how the birds to foreign seats ^ repaired. 

Or beasts, that bolted out and saw the forest bared : 

Nor how the ground, now cleared, with ghastly fright 955 

Beheld the sudden sun, a stranger to the light. 

The straw, as first I said, was laid below ; 
Of chips and sear wood was the second row ; 
The third of greens, and timber newly felled ; 
The fourth high stage the fragrant odors held, 960 

And pearls, and precious stones, and rich array ; 
In midst of which, embalmed, the body lay. 
The service sung, the maid, with mourning eyes. 
The stubble fired ; the smoldering flames arise. 
This office done, she sunk upon the ground; 965 

But what she spoke, recovered from her swound, 
I want the wit in moving words to dress, 
But by themselves the tender sex may guess. 
While the devouring fire was burning fast. 
Rich jewels in the flame the wealthy cast, 970 

And some their shields, and some their lances threw. 
And gave their warrior's ghost a warrior's due. 

1 Emblem of mourning. 2 Growing near water. 

3 " The trees were," etc. Similar lists are found in Spenser, Ovid, and 
Vergil. 

* " With," i.e., nor shall I tell of. 

5 Goddesses of mountains, forests, meadows, or water. 

6 Wood nymphs. Their life was bound up with that of the trees they in- 
habited. 

■7 Dispossessed. 8 Dwelling places. 



too JOHN DRYDEN. [book m. 

Full bowls of wine, of honey, milk, and blood, 
Were poured upon the pile of burning wood. 
And hissing flames receive, and hungry lick the food. 975 
Then thrice the mounted squadrons ride around 
The fire, and Arcite's name they thrice resound : 
' '■ ** Hail and farewell! " ^ they shouted thrice amain, 
Thrice facing to the left, and thrice they turned again ; 
Still, as they turned, they beat their clattering shields ; 980 
The women mix their cries, and clamor fills the fields. 
The warlike wakes ^ continued all the night. 
And funeral games were played at new returning light. 
Who naked wrestled best, besmeared with oil. 
Or who with gauntlets^ gave or took the foil,* 985 

I will not tell you, nor would you attend ; 
But briefly haste to my long story's end. 

I pass the rest ; the year was fully mourned. 
And Palamon long since to Thebes returned ; 
When, by the Grecians' general consent, 990 

At Athens Theseus held his parliament. 
Among the laws that passed, it was decreed 
That conquered Thebes from bondage should be freed ; 
Reserving homage to the Athenian throne. 
To which the sovereign summoned Palamon. 995 

Unknowing of the cause, he took his way. 
Mournful in mind, and still in black array. 

The monarch mounts the throne, and, placed on high, 
Commands into the court the beauteous Emily. 
So called, she came; the senate rose, and paid 1000 

Becoming reverence to the royal maid. 
And first, soft whispers through the assembly went; 
With silent wonder then they watched the event.^ 

1 *' Hail and farewell," a traditional salutation to the dead. 

2 A noun. In parts of Ireland wakes are still celebrated. 

3 Boxing gauntlets, the cestus. 

* " Took the foil," i.e., gave or took defeat. 5 The progress of events. 



BOOK III.] PA LAM ON AND ARCITE. lOl 

All hushed, the king arose with awful grace, 1004 

Deep thought was in his breast, and counsel in his face ; 
At length he sighed, and having first prepared 
The attentive audience, thus his will declared : 

" The Cause and Spring of motion, from above, 
Hung down on earth the golden chain of Love ; 
Great was the effect, and high was his intent, loio 

When peace among the jarring seeds he sent ; 
Fire, flood, and earth, and air by this were bound, 
And Love, the common link,^ the new creation crowned. ^ 
The chain still holds ; for though the forms decay, 
Eternal matter never wears away: 1015 

The same first Mover certain bounds has placed, 
^ How long those perishable forms shall last ; 
Nor can they last beyond the time assigned 
By that all-seeing and all-making Mind ; 
Shorten their hours they may, for will is free, 1020 

But never pass the appointed destiny. 
So men oppressed, when weary of their breath, 
Throw off the burden, and suborn * their death. 
Then, since those forms begin, and have their end, 
On some unaltered cause they sure depend: 1025 

Parts of the whole are we, but God the whole, 
Who gives us life and animating soul. 
For Nature cannot from a part derive 
That being which the whole can only give ; 
He perfect, stable; but imperfect we, 1030 

Subject to change, and different in degree,— 

1 A mixed comparison. A " link " cannot " crown." 

2 "The Cause," etc. Some of the oldest Greek philosophers conceived 
of the universe as made up of four imperishable elements (" jarring seeds "), 
earth, air, fire, water. A combining force, Love, and a separating force, 
Hate, were the cause of the "perishable forms" — the combination of the 
elements (Love) causing life and growth, their separation, death and decay. 

3 Supply "that determine." 

* Procure privately, i.e., commit suicide. 



I02 JOHN DRYDEN. [book hi. 

Plants, beasts, and man ; and, as our organs are, 

We more or less of his perfection share. 

But by a long descent, the ethereal fire 

Corrupts; and forms, the mortal part, expire: 1035 

As he withdraws his virtue, so they pass. 

And the same matter makes another mass.i 

This law the omniscient Power was pleased to give. 

That every kind should by succession live ; 

That individuals die, his will ordains; 1040 

The propagated species still remains. 

The monarch oak, the patriarch of the trees. 

Shoots rising up, and spreads by slow degrees ; 

Three centuries he grows, and three he stays 

Supreme in state, and in three more decays. 1045 

So wears the paving pebble in the street. 

And towns and towers their fatal periods meet ; 

So rivers, rapid once, now naked lie, 

Forsaken of ^ their springs, and leave their channels dry. 

Man struggles into breath, and cries for aid; 1050 

Then, helpless, in his mother's lap is laid. 

He creeps, he walks, and issuing into man, 

Grudges their Hfe, from whence his own began ; 

Retchless ^ of laws, a^ects to rule alone, 

Anxious to reign, and restless on the throne; 1055 

First vegetive,* then feels, and reasons last ; 

Rich of three souls, and lives all three to waste. 

Some thus ; but thousands more in flower of age ; 

For few arrive to run the latter stage. 

Sunk in the first, in battle some are slain, 1060 

And others whelmed beneath the stormy main. 

1 "And the same matter," etc., i.e., the elements composing a substance 
separate, and are recombined into something else. 

2 By. 3 Reckless. 

■4 Merely growing, like plants. The "vegetal," "animal," and "intel- 
lectual" were the "three souls" successively developed in man, according 
to belief in the time of Chaucer and Dryden. 



BOOK III.] PALAMON AND ARCITE. 103 

What makes all this, but Jupiter the king, 

At whose command we perish, and we spring? 

Then 'tis our best, since thus ordained to die. 

To make a virtue of necessity; 1065 

Take what he gives, since to rebel is vain ; 

The bad grows better, which we well sustain. 

And could we choose the time, and choose aright, 

'Tis best to die, our honor at the height. 

When we have done our ancestors no shame, 1070 

But served our friends, and well secured our fame ; 

Then should we wish our happy life to close, 

And leave no more for Fortune to dispose. 

So should we make our death a glad relief 

From future shame, from sickness, and from grief; 1075 

Enjoying, while we live, the present hour. 

And dying in our excellence and flower. 

Then round our deathbed every friend should run, 

And joy us of our conquest early won ; 

While the malicious world, with envious tears, 1080 

Should grudge our happy end, and wish it theirs. 

Since, then, our Arcite is with honor dead. 

Why should we mourn, that he so soon is freed, 

Or call * untimely ' what the gods decreed? 

With grief as just, a friend may be deplored, 1085 

From a foul prison to free air restored. 

Ought he to thank his kinsman or his wife, 

Could tears recall him into wretched life ? 

Their sorrow hurts themselves, on him is lost, 

And worse than both, offends his happy ghost. 1090 

What then remains, but, after past annoy, 

To take the good vicissitude of joy? 

To thank the gracious gods for what they give. 

Possess our souls, and while we live, to live? 

Ordain we then two sorrows to combine, 109 5 

And in one point the extremes of grief to join ; 



I-04 JOHN DRYDEN. [book iii.: 

That thence resulting joy may be renewed, 

As jarring notes in harmony conclude. 

Then I propose that Palamon shall be 

In marriage joined with beauteous Emily; iioo 

For which already I have gained the assent 

Of my free people in full parliament. 

Long love to her has borne the faithful knight, 

And well deserved, had Fortune done him right ; 

'Tis time to mend her fault, since Emily 1105 

By Arcite's. death from former vows is free : 

If you, fair sister, ratify the accord, 

And take him for your husband and your lord, 

'Tis no dishonor to confer your grace 

On one descended from a royal race ; mo 

And were he less, yet years of service past 

From grateful souls exact reward at last. 

Pity is Heaven's and yours ; nor can she find 

A throne so soft as in a woman's mind." 

He said; she blushed; and as o'erawed by might, 11 15 

Seemed to give Theseus what she gave the knight. 

Then, turning to the Theban, thus he said : 

" Small arguments are needful to persuade 

Your temper to comply with my command." 

And speaking thus, he gave Emilia's hand. 11 20 

Smiled Venus, to behold her own true knight 

Obtain the conquest, though he lost the fight. 

All of a tenor was their after life. 

No day discolored with domestic strife ; 

No jealousy, but mutual truth believed, 11 25 

Secure repose, and kindness undeceived. 

Thus Heaven, beyond the compass of his thought, 

Sent him the blessing he so dearly bought. 

So may the queen of love long duty bless. 
And all true lovers find the same success. 1130 



DEDICATION. 



TO HER GRACE THE DUCHESS i OF ORMOND, 

WITH THE POEM OF 

PALAMON AND ARCITE. 

Madam, 
The bard ^ who first adorned our native tongue, 
Tuned to his British lyre this ancient song ; 
Which Horner^ might without a blush rehearse, 
And * leaves a doubtful palm in Vergil's ^ verse : 
He matched their beauties, where they most excel ; 5 

Of love sung better, and of arms as well. 

Vouchsafe, illustrious Ormond,i to behold 
What power the charms of beauty had of old ; 
Nor wonder if such deeds of arms were done, 
Inspired by two fair eyes, that sparkled like your own. 10 

If Chaucer by the best idea wrought. 
And poets can divine each other's thought, 

1 The duchess of Ormond was Lady Margaret Somerset. She was re- 
motely descended from the royal line of the Plantagenets. 

2 Chaucer. 

3 The famous Greek poet to whom is assigned the authorship of the 
Iliad and the Odyssey. 

* Supply " which. " Which leaves Vergil a doubtful superiority. 
5 Famous Roman epic poet (B.C. 70-19), author of the ^neid. 
lot; 



io6 JOHN DRY DEN. 

The fairest nymph before his eyes he set ; 

And then the fairest was Plantagenet,i 

Who three contending princes made her prize, 1 5 

And ruled the rival nations with her eyes ; 

Who left immortal trophies of her fame, 

And to the noblest order 2 gave the name. 

Like her, of equal kindred to the throne, 
You keep her conquests, and extend your own ; 20 

As when the stars, in their ethereal race, 
At length have rolled around the liquid space, 
At certain periods they resume their place. 
From the same point of heaven their course advance. 
And move in measures of their former dance ; 25 

Thus, after length of ages, she returns. 
Restored in you, and the same place adorns ; 
Or you perform her office in the sphere. 
Born of her blood, and make a new Platonic year.^ 

O true Plantagenet,* O race divine, 30 

(For beauty still is fatal ^ to the line) 
Had Chaucer Hved that angel face to view. 
Sure he had drawn his Emily from you ; 

1 Probably Joan, countess of Salisbury, daughter of Edmund Plantage- 
net, earl of Kent (second son of King Edward I.), famous as the Fair Maid 
of Kent. She married three times, first Sir Thomas Holland, then the earl 
of Salisbury, and lastly Edward, the Black Prince, thus making " three con- 
tending princes " her prize. The house of Plantagenet was a line of English 
kings (i 154-1399) founded by Henry II. 

2 The Order of the Garter, the highest order of knighthood in Great Brit- 
ain. According to the legend, Joan, countess of Salisbury, accidentally 
dropped her garter at a court ball ; it was picked up by her partner, King 
Edward III., who bound it round his own knee, saying, " Honi soit qui mal 
y pense," " Evil to him who evil thinks." The foundation of the order 
(about 1350)9 as well as its name and its motto, are ascribed to this incident. 

3 " A new Platonic year," i.e., a period that brings the heavenly bodies 
back to their original relative position. 

4 See Note i, p. 105. 

5 A privilege granted by fate. 



DEDICATION. 107 

Or had you lived to judge the doubtful right, 

Your noble Palamon had been the knight; 35 

And conquering Theseus from his side had sent 

Your generous lord, to guide the Theban government. 

Time shall accomplish that ; and I shall see 

A Palamon in him, in you an Emily. 

Already have the Fates your path prepared, 40 

And sure presage your future sway declared : 

When westward, like the sun, you took your way,i 

And from benighted Britain bore the day, 

Blue Triton 2 gave the signal from the shore, 

The ready Nereids ^ heard, and swam before 45 

To smooth the seas ; a soft Etesian gale ^ 

But just inspired, and gently swelled the sail ; 

Portunus * took his turn, whose ample hand 

Heaved up the lightened keel, and sunk the sand, 

And steered the sacred vessel safe to land. 50 

The land, if not restrained, had met your way. 

Projected out a neck, and jutted to the sea.^ 

Hibernia, prostrate at your feet, adored 

In you the pledge of her expected lord ; 

Due to her isle ; a venerable name ; 55 

His father '^ and his grandsire known to fame ; 

Awed by that house, accustomed to command, 

The sturdy kerns ^ in due subjection stand ; 

Nor bear ^ the reins in any foreign hand. 

1 " When westward," etc., an allusion to the duchess's voyage to Ireland. 

2 Triton was a son of Neptune (god of the sea), who dwelt with his father 
at the bottom of the water, and blew on his shell trumpet when he wished to 
quiet the waves. The Nereids were sea nymphs helpful to voyagers. 

3 An annual gentle wind. * The Roman sea god of harbors. 
s ** The land," etc., a true courtier's compliment! 

6 Ormond's father was the earl of Ossory, and his grandfather was James 
Butler (1610-1688), first duke of Ormond. The latter, after subduing the 
Irish rebels, became lord lieutenant of Ireland in 1644. 

■^ Peasants. 8 Some read "hear," meaning "regard," " obey." 



Io8 JOHN DRYDEN. 

At your approach, they crowded to the port; 60 

And scarcely landed, you create a court : 
As Ormond's harbinger, to you they run ; ^ 
For Venus ^ is the promise of the sun. 

The waste of civil wars, their towns destroyed, 
Pales 3 unhonored, Ceres* unemployed, 65 

Were all forgot ; and one triumphant day 
Wiped all the tears of three campaigns away. 
Blood, rapines, massacres, were cheaply bought, 
So mighty recompense your beauty brought. 
As when the dove returning bore the mark 70 

Of earth restored to the long-laboring ark. 
The relics of mankind, secure of rest, 
Oped every window to receive the guest, 
And the fair bearer of the message blessed ; 
So, when you came, with loud-repeated cries, 75 

The nation took an omen from your eyes, 
And God advanced his rainbow in the skies, 
To sign inviolable peace restored ; 
The saints, with solemn shouts, proclaimed the new accord. 

When at your second coming you appear, 80 

(For I foretell that millenary ^ year) 
The sharpened share ^ shall vex the soil no more. 
But earth unbidden shall produce her store : 
The land shall laugh, the circling ocean smile. 
And Heaven's indulgence bless the holy isle. 85 

Heaven from all ages has reserved for you 
That happy clime, which venom never knew;'^ 
Or if it had been there, your eyes alone 
Have power to chase all poison but their own. 

1 " As Ormond's harbinger," etc. The duchess reached Ireland before the 
duke. 2 Venus as morning star appears not long before sunrise, 

3 Goddess of sheep pastures. * Goddess of corn, 

s Millennial. 6 Plowshare. 

"^ " Which venom never knew." There are no snakes in Ireland. 



DEDICATION. 109 

Now in this interval which Fate has cast 90 

Betwixt your future glories and your past, 
This pause of power, 'tis Ireland's hour to mourn ; 
While England celebrates your safe return. 
By which you seem the seasons to command, 
And bring our summers back to their forsaken land. 95 

The vanquished isle our leisure must attend. 
Till the fair blessing we vouchsafe to send ; 
Nor can we spare you long, though often we may lend. 
The dove was twice employed abroad, before 
The world was dried, and she returned no more. 100 

Nor dare we trust so soft a messenger. 
New from her sickness,^ to that northern air ; 
Rest here awhile your luster to restore. 
That they may see you, as you shone before ; 
For yet, the eclipse not wholly past, you wade 105 

Through some remains, and dimness of a shade. 

A subject in his prince may claim a right, 
Nor suffer him with strength impaired to fight; 
Till force returns, his ardor we restrain. 
And curb his warlike wish to cross the main. no 

Now past the danger, let the learned begin 
The inquiry, where disease could enter in ; 
How those malignant atoms forced their way. 
What in the faultless frame they found to make their prey. 
Where every element was weighed so well, 115 

That Heaven alone, who mixed the mass, could tell 
Which of the four ingredients could rebel : 
And where, imprisoned in so sweet a cage, 
A soul might well be pleased to pass an age. 

And yet the fine materials made it weak; 120 

Porcelain, by being pure, is apt to break : 
Even to your breast the sickness durst aspire ; 

1 She had just recovered from a fever. 



JOHN dryden: 

And, forced from that fair temple to retire, 

Profanely set the holy place on fire. 

In vain your lord, like young Vespasian,^ mourned, 125 

When the fierce flames the sanctuary burned : 

And I prepared to pay in verses rude 

A most detested act of gratitude : 

Even this had been your elegy, which now 

Is offered for your health, the table of my vow.2 130 

Your angel sure our Morley's ^ mind inspired, 
To find the remedy your ill required ; 
As once the Macedon,^ by Jove's decree, 
Was taught to dream an herb for Ptolemy ,4 
Or Heaven, which had such overcost bestowed, 135 

As scarce it could aff^ord to flesh and blood. 
So liked the frame, he would not work anew. 
To save the charges of another you. 
Or by his middle science did he steer. 
And saw some great contingent good appear, 140 

Well worth a miracle to keep you here : 
And for that end, preserve the precious mold 
Which all the future Ormonds was to hold ; 
And meditated in his better mind 
An heir from you, who may redeem the failing kind. 145 

Blessed be the power which has at once restored 
The hopes of lost succession to your lord ; 



1 Titus Vespasian us (40-81), Roman emperor, son of the emperor Ves- 
pasian. In the year 70 he conquered Jerusalem. The Roman soldiers burned 
the buildings, and in spite of the efforts of Titus to prevent it, the temple took 
fire and was burned to the ground. 

2 " The table of my vow," i.e., the tablet, the offering for your recovery, 
viz., this poem, which, had you died, would have been your elegy. 

3 Her physician. 

4 Alexander the Great (B.C. 356-323), king of Macedon (now part of 
Turkey), found in a dream a remedy for his friend Ptolemy I. (B.C. 367- 
285), king of Egypt. 



DEDICA TION. 1 1 1 

Joy to the first and last of each degree, 

Virtue to courts, and, what I longed to see, 

To you the Graces, and the Muse^ to me. 150 

O daughter of the Rose, whose cheeks unite 
The differing titles of the red and white ;2 
Who heaven's alternate beauty will display, 
The blush of morning, and the milky way ; 
Whose face is paradise, but fenced from sin ; 155 

For God in either eye has placed a cherubin.^ 

All is your lord's alone ; even absent, he 
Employs the care of chaste Penelope.* 
For him you waste in tears your widowed hours, 
For him your curious needle paints the flowers; 160 

Such works of old imperial dames were taught ; 
Such, for Ascanius,^ fair Ehsa ^ wrought. 
The soft recesses of your hours improve 
The three fair pledges of your happy love : 
All other parts of pious duty done, 165 

You owe your Ormond nothing but a son ; 
To fill in future times his father's place. 
And wear the garter of his mother's race."^ 

1 The Muses, nine in number, were inspirers of poetry, song, etc. 

2 " Daughter of the Rose," etc., an allusion to the Wars of the Roses 
(1455-1485), the struggle between two lines of English kings, the house of 
Lancaster, whose emblem was the red rose, and the house of York, who 
wore the white rose as a badge. The duchess of Ormond traced her descent 
from both houses. 

3 Cherub. 

4 The wife of Ulysses, the hero of the Odyssey. She was famous as a 
model of the domestic virtues. 

5 Ascanius, the son of ^neas, the hero of Vergil's ^neid. 

6 Elisa, Elissa, or Dido, the queen of Carthage, who in the fourth book 
of the yEneid falls in love with ^neas. 

"^ "And wear the garter," etc. The duchess of Ormond was descended 
from Lady Salisbury, in whose honor the Order of the Garter was instituted. 



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